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FINISHED 


WORKS    BY    H.    RIDER    HAGGARD 


PARLIAMENTARY  BLUE-BOOK. 
Report  to  H.M.'s  Government  on  the  Salvation 
Army  Colonies  in  the  United  States,  with  Scheme 
OF  National  Land  Settlement.     [Cd,  2562] 

POLITICAL  HISTORY. 
Cetkwayo  and  his  White  Neighbours. 


WORKS 


ON     SOCIOLOGY, 
AND  COUNTRY 


AGRICULTURE, 
LIFE. 


Rural  England  (2  vols.).       I  The  Poor  and  the  Land. 
Rural  Denmark  and  its   Regeneration, 
Lessons.  |  a  Farmer's  Year. 

A  Gardener's  Year. 

•*  Mr.  Rider  Haggard  is  probably  most  widely  known  as  a 
novelist,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  are  few  men  now  writ- 
ing English  whose  books  on  vital  sociological  questions  are  of 
such  value  as  his,  and  hardly  one  among  this  small  number 
who  has  grasped  as  he  has  grasped  the  dangers  that  beset  the 
future  of  the  English-  speaking  people,  and  the  way  these  dan- 
gers can  best  be  met:'— Mr.  Theodore  Roosevelt  in  "  The  Out' 
lookt"  New  York,fuly  /,  iqi  i. 

BOOK  OF  TRAVEL. 
A  Winter  Pilgrimage. 


NOVELS. 


Dawn. 

The  Witch's  Head. 

Jess. 

Colonel  Quaritch,  V.C. 


Beatrice. 

iOAN  Haste. 
)OCTOR  Therne. 
Stella  Fregelius. 


The  Way  of  the  Spirit. 
ROMANCES. 


King  Solomon's  Mines. 

She. 

Ayesha:  The  Return  of  She. 

ALLAN  QUATERMAIN. 

Mr.  Meeson's  Will. 

Allan's  Wife. 

Cleopatra. 

Eric  Brighteyes. 

Nada  the  Lily. 

Montezuma's  Daughter. 

The  People  of  the  Mist. 

Heart  of  the  World. 

Swallow. 

Marie. 

The    Mahatma    and    the 

Hare. 
Allan     and     The     Holy 

Flower. 


Black  Heart  and  White 
Heart. 

Lvsbeth. 

Pearl-Maiden. 

The  Brethren. 

The    Spirit    of    Bambatsb 
(Benita). 

Margaret. 

The  Ghost  Kings. 

The  Yellow  God  :  An  Idol 

OF  Africa. 
Morning  Star. 
The  Lady  op  Blossholme. 
Queen  Sheba's  Ring. 
RED  Eve. 
Child  of  Storm. 
The  Wandekek's  Necklace. 
The  Ivory  Child. 


{In  Collaboration  with  Andrew  Lang) 
The  World's  Desire. 


''All  is  as  the  picture  told." 


{see  page  159) 


FINISHED 


By 
H.  RIDER  HAGGARD 

Author  of  "  She,"  "  Allan  Quatermain,"   "Marie,' 
"  Child  of  Storm,"  etc. 


LONGMANS,   GREEN   AND   CO 

FOURTH   AVENUE  &  30th  STREET,   NEW   YORK 
I917 


COPYRIOHT,  1916,   BY 
THE  RIDGWAY  COMPANY 

Copyright,  1917,  by 
H.   RIDER  HAGGARD 

All  rights  reserved 


DiTCHINGHAM   HoUSE,    NORFOLK, 

April,   19 1 7. 
My  dear  Roosevelt, 

You  are,  I  know,  a  lover  of  old  Allan  Quatermain, 
one  who  understands  and  appreciates  the  views  of 
life  and  the  aspirations  that  underlie  and  inform  his 
manifold  adventures. 

Therefore,  since  such  is  your  kind  wish,  in  mem' 
ory  of  certain  hours  wherein  both  of  us  found  true 
refreshment  and  companionship  amidst  the  terrible 
anxieties  of  the  World's  journey  along  that  blood- 
stained road  by  which  alone,  so  it  is  decreed,  the  pure 
Peak  of  Freedom  must  be  scaled,  I  dedicate  to  you 
this  tale  telling  of  the  events  and  experiences  of  my 
youth. 

Your  sincere  friend, 

H.  RIDER  HAGGARD. 

To  Colonel  Theodore  Roosevelt, 
Sagamore  Hill,  U.S.A, 


914 


INTRODUCTION 

This  book,  although  it  can  be  read  as  a  separate 
story,  is  the  third  of  the  trilogy  of  which  Marie 
and  Child  of  Storm  are  the  first  two  parts.  It  nar- 
rates, through  the  mouth  of  Allan  Quatermain,  the 
consummation  of  the  vengeance  of  the  wizard  Zikali, 
alias  The  Opener  of  Roads,  or  "  The-Thing-that- 
should-never-have-been-born,"  upon  the  royal  Zulu 
House  of  which  Senzangacona  was  the  founder  and 
Cetewayo,  our  enemy  in  the  war  of  1879,  the  last  rep- 
resentative who  ruled  as  a  king.  Although,  of  course, 
much  is  added  for  the  purposes  of  romance,  the  main 
facts  of  history  have  been  adhered  to  with  some  faith- 
fulness. 

With  these  the  author  became  acquainted  a  full 
generation  ago.  Fortune  having  given  him  a  part 
in  the  events  that  preceded  the  Zulu  war.  Indeed  he 
believes  that  with  the  exception  of  Colonel  Phillips, 
who,  as  a  lieutenant,  commanded  the  famous  escort  of 
twenty-five  policemen,  he  is  now  the  last  survivor  of 
the  party  who,  under  the  leadership  of  Sir  Theophilus 
Shepstone,  or  Sompseu  as  the  natives  called  him  from 
the  Zambezi  to  the  Cape,  were  concerned  in  the  annex- 
ation of  the  Transvaal  in  1877.  Recently  also  he  has 
been  called  upon  as  a  public  servant  to  revisit  South 
Africa  and  took  the  opportunity  to  travel  through 
Zululand,  in  order  to  refresh  his  knowledge  of  its 
people,  their  customs,  their  mysteries,  and  better  to 
prepare  himself  for  the  writing  of  this  book.  Here 
he  stood  by  the  fatal  Mount  of  Isandhlwana  which, 

.vii 


viil  INTRODUCTION 

with  some  details  of  the  battle,  is  described  in  these 
pages,  among  the  graves  of  many  whom  once  he  knew, 
Colonels  Durnford,  Pulleine  and  others.  Also  he  saw 
Ulundi's  plain  where  the  traces  of  war  still  lie  thick, 
and  talked  with  an  old  Zulu  who  fought  in  the  attack- 
ing Impi  until  it  crumbled  away  before  the  fire  of  the 
Martinis  and  shells  from  the  heavy  guns.  The  battle 
of  the  Wall  of  Sheet  Iron,  he  called  it,  perhaps  because 
of  the  flashing  fence  of  bayonets. 

Lastly,  in  a  mealie  patch,  he  found  the  spot  on 
which  the  corn  grows  thin,  where  King  Cetewayo 
breathed  his  last,  poisoned  without  a  doubt,  as  he  has 
known  for  many  years.  It  is  to  be  seen  at  the  Kraal 
ominously  named  Jazi,  or,  translated  into  English, 
"  Finished."  The  tragedy  happened  long  ago,  but 
even  now  the  quiet-faced  Zulu  who  told  the  tale,  look- 
ing about  him  as  he  spoke,  would  not  tell  it  all.  ''  Yes, 
as  a  young  man,  I  was  there  at  the  time,  but  I  do  not 
remember,  I  do  not  know.  The  Inkosi  Lundanda  (i.  e. 
this  Chronicler,  so  named  in  past  years  by  the  Zulus) 
stands  on  the  very  place  where  the  king  died.  His  bed 
was  on  the  left  of  the  door-hole  of  the  hut,"  and  so 
forth,  but  no  certain  word  as  to  the  exact  reason  of  this 
sudden  and  violent  death  or  by  whom  it  was  caused. 
The  name  of  that  destroyer  of  a  king  is  for  ever  hid. 

In  this  story  the  actual  and  immediate  cause  of  the 
declaration  of  war  against  the  British  Power  is  rep- 
resented as  the  appearance  of  the  white  goddess,  or 
spirit  of  the  Zulus,  who  is,  or  was,  called  Nomkubul- 
wana  or  Inkosazana-y-Zulu,  i.  e.  the  Princess  of 
Heaven.  The  exact  circumstances  which  led  to  this 
decision  are  not  now  ascertainable,  though  it  is  known 
that  there  was  much  difference  of  opinion  among  the 
Zulu  Indunas  or  great  captains,  and  like  the  writer, 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

many  believe  that  King  Cetewayo  was  personally 
averse  to  war  against  his  old  allies,  the  English. 

The  author's  friend,  Mr.  J.  Y.  Gibson,  at  present  the 
representative  of  the  Union  in  Zululand,  writes  in  his 
admirable  history :  "  There  was  a  good  deal  of  discus- 
sion amongst  the  assembled  Zulu  notables  at  Ulundi, 
but  of  how  counsel  was  swayed  it  is  not  possible  now 
to  obtain  a  reliable  account." 

The  late  Mr.  F.  B.  Fynney,  F.R.G.S.,  who  also  was 
his  friend  in  days  bygone,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone,  who  perhaps  knew  the 
Zulus  and  their  language  better  than  any  other  official 
of  his  day,  speaking  of  this  fabled  goddess  wrote :  ''  I 
remember  that  just  before  the  Zulu  War  Nomkubul- 
wana  appeared  revealing  something  or  other  which 
had  a  great  effect  throughout  the  land." 

The  use  made  of  this  strange  traditional  Guardian 
Angel  in  the  following  tale  is  not  therefore  an  unsup- 
ported flight  of  fancy,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of 
many  other  incidents,  such  as  the  account  of  the  read- 
ing of  the  proclamation  annexing  the  Transvaal  at 
Pretoria  in  1877,  which  have  been  introduced  to  serve 
the  purposes  of  the  romance. 

Mameena,  who  haunts  its  pages,  in  a  literal  as  well 
as  figurative  sense,  is  the  heroine  of  Child  of  Storm, 
a  book  to  which  she  gave  her  own  poetic  title. 

1916.  THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  Allan    Quatermain     Meets    Ans- 

COMBE I 

II  Mr.    Marnham i6 

III  The  Hunters  Hunted        .        .        .  31 

IV  Doctor  Rodd 49 

V  A  Game  of  Cards         ....  69 

VI  Miss  Heda 82 

VII  The  Stoep 98 

VIII  Rood's  Last  Card         .        .        .        .113 

IX  Flight 133 

X  NoMBE 150 

XI  ZiKALi 167 

XII  Trapped 184 

XIII  Cetewayo 202 

XIV  The  Valley  of  Bones         .        .       .219 
XV  The  Great  Council   ....  234 

XVI  War 251 

XVII  Kaatje  Brings  News         .        .       .  274 

XVIII  Isandhlwana 293 

XIX  Allan  Awakes 313 

XX  Heda's  Tale 328 

XXI  The  King  Visits  Zikali     .        .       .  349 

XXII  The  Madness  of  Nombe     .        .       .  370 

XXIII  The  Kraal  Jazi 385 


FINISHED 

CHAPTER  I 

ALLAN  QUATERMAIN  MEETS  ANSCOMBE 

You,  my  friend,  into  whose  hand,  if  you  live,  I  hope 
these  scribbHngs  of  mine  will  pass  one  day,  must  well 
remember  the  12th  of  April  of  the  year  1877  ^^  P^^~ 
toria.  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone,  or  Sompseu,  for  I 
prefer  to  call  him  by  his  native  name,  having  investi- 
gated the  affairs  of  the  Transvaal  for  a  couple  of 
months  or  so,  had  made  up  his  mind  to  annex  that 
country  to  the  British  Crown.  It  so  happened  that 
I,  Allan  Quatermain,  had  been  on  a  shooting  and  trad- 
ing expedition  at  the  back  of  the  Lydenburg  district 
where  there  was  plenty  of  game  to  be  killed  in  those 
times.  Hearing  that  great  events  were  toward  I  made 
up  my  mind,  curiosity  being  one  of  my  weaknesses,  to 
come  round  by  Pretoria,  which  after  all  was  not  very 
far  out  of  my  way,  instead  of  striking  straight  back 
to  Natal.  As  it  chanced  I  reached  the  town  about 
eleven  o'clock  on  this  very  morning  of  the  12th  of 
April  and,  trekking  to  the  Church  Square,  proceeded 
to  outspan  there,  as  was  usual  in  the  Seventies.  The 
place  was  full  of  people,  English  and  Dutch  together, 
and  I  noted  that  the  former  seemed  very  elated  and 
were  talking  excitedly,  while  the  latter  for  the  most 
part  appeared  to  be  sullen  and  depressed. 

Presently  I  saw  a  man  I  knew,  a  tall,  dark  man,  a 


2  FINISHED 

very  good  fellow  and  an  excellent  shot,  named  Robin- 
son. By  the  way  you  knew  him  also,  for  afterwards 
he  was  an  officer  in  the  Pretoria  Horse  at  the  time  of 
the  Zulu  war,  the  corps  in  which  you  held  a  commis- 
sion.     I  called  to  him  and  asked  what  was  up. 

"  A  good  deal,  Allan,"  he  said  as  he  shook  my  hand. 
"  Indeed  we  shall  be  lucky  if  all  isn't  up,  or  something 
like  it,  before  the  day  is  over.  Shepstone's  proclama- 
tion annexing  the  Transvaal  is  going  to  be  read 
presently." 

I  whistled  and  asked, 

"  How  will  our  Boer  friends  take  it  ?  They  don't 
look  very  pleased." 

"  That's  just  what  no  one  knows,  Allan.  Burgers 
the  President  is  squared,  they  say.  He  is  to  have  a 
pension;  also  he  thinks  it  the  only  thing  to  be  done. 
Most  of  the  Hollanders  up  here  don't  like  it,  but  I 
doubt  whether  they  will  put  out  their  hands  further 
than  they  can  draw  them  back.  The  question  is — what 
will  be  the  line  of  the  Boers  themselves?  There  are 
a  lot  of  them  about,  all  armed,  you  see,  and  more 
outside  the  town." 

"What  do  you  think?" 

"  Can't  tell  you.  Anything  may  happen.  They  may 
shoot  Shepstone  and  his  staff  and  the  twenty-five 
policemen,  or  they  may  just  grumble  and  go  home. 
Probably  they  have  no  fixed  plan." 

''  How  about  the  English  ?  " 

**  Oh!  we  are  all  crazy  with  joy,  but  of  course  there 
is  no  organization  and  many  have  no  arms.  Also  there 
are  only  a  few  of  us." 

"  Well,"  I  answered,  "  I  came  here  to  look  for  ex- 
citement, life  having  been  dull  for  me  of  late,  and  it 
seems  that  I  have  found  it.     Still  I  bet  you  those 


QUATERMAIN  MEETS  ANSCOMBE     3 

Dutchmen  do  nothing,  except  protest.  They  are  slim 
and  know  that  the  shooting  of  an  unarmed  mission 
would  bring  England  on  their  heads." 

"  Can't  say,  I  am  sure.  They  like  Shepstone,  who 
understands  them,  and  the  move  is  so  bold  that  it  takes 
their  breath  away.  But  as  the  Kaffirs  say,  when  a 
strong  wind  blows  a  small  spark  will  make  the  whole 
veld  burn.  It  just  depends  upon  whether  the  spark  is 
there.  If  an  Englishman  and  a  Boer  began  to  fight 
for  instance,  anything  might  happen.  Good-bye,  I 
have  got  a  message  to  deliver.  If  things  go  right  we 
might  dine  at  the  European  to-night,  and  if  they  don't, 
goodness  knows  where  we  shall  dine." 

I  nodded  sagely  and  he  departed.  Then  I  went  to 
my  wagon  to  tell  the  boys  not  to  send  the  oxen  off  to 
graze  at  present,  for  I  feared  lest  they  should  be  stolen 
if  there  were  trouble,  but  to  keep  them  tied  to  the  trek- 
tow.  After  this  I  put  on  the  best  coat  and  hat  I  had, 
feeling  that  as  an  Englishman  it  was  my  duty  to  look 
decent  on  such  an  occasion,  washed,  brushed  my  hair 
— with  me  a  ceremony  without  meaning,  for  it  always 
sticks  up^ — and  slipped  a  loaded  Smith  &  Wesson 
revolver  into  my  inner  poacher  pocket.  Then  I  started 
out  to  see  the  fun,  and  avoiding  the  groups  of  surly- 
looking  Boers,  mingled  with  the  crowd  that  I  saw  was 
gathering  in  front  of  a  long,  low  building  with  a  broad 
stoep,  which  I  supposed,  rightly,  to  be  one  of  the 
Government  offices. 

Presently  I  found  myself  standing  by  a  tall,  rather 
loosely-built  man  whose  face  attracted  me.  It  was 
clean-shaven  and  much  bronzed  by  the  sun,  but  not  in 
any  way  good-looking ;  the  features  were  too  irregular 
and  the  nose  was  a  trifle  too  long  for  good  looks.  Still 
the  impression  it  gave  was  pleasant  and  the  steady  blue 


4  FINISHED 

eyes  had  that  twinkle  in  them  which  suggests  humour. 
He  might  have  been  thirty  or  thirty-five  years  of  age, 
and  notwithstanding  his  rough  dress  that  consisted 
mainly  of  a  pair  of  trousers  held  up  by  a  belt  to  which 
hung  a  pistol,  and  a  common  flannel  shirt,  for  he 
wore  no  coat,  I  guessed  at  once  that  he  was  English- 
born. 

For  a  while  neither  of  us  said  anything  after  the 
taciturn  habit  of  our  people  even  on  the  veld,  and  in- 
deed I  was  fully  occupied  in  listening  to  the  truculent 
talk  of  a  little  party  of  mounted  Boers  behind  us.  I 
put  my  pipe  into  my  mouth  and  began  to  hunt  for  my 
tobacco,  taking  the  opportunity  to  show  the  hilt  of  my 
revolver,  so  that  these  men  might  see  that  I  was  armed. 
It  was  not  to  be  found,  I  had  left  it  in  the  wagon. 

"  If  you  smoke  Boer  tobacco,"  said  the  stranger,  "  I 
can  help  you,"  and  I  noted  that  the  voice  was  as  pleas- 
ant as  the  face,  and  knew  at  once  that  the  owner  of  it 
was  a  gentleman. 

"  Thank  you.  Sir.  I  never  smoke  anything  else,"  I 
answered,  whereon  he  produced  from  his  trousers 
pocket  a  pouch  made  of  lion  skin  of  unusually  dark 
colour. 

"  I  never  saw  a  lion  as  black  as  this,  except  once 
beyond  Buluwayo  on  the  borders  of  Lobengula's  coun- 
try," I  said  by  way  of  making  conversation. 

"  Curious,"  answered  the  stranger,  *'  for  that's 
where  I  shot  the  brute  a  few  months  ago.  I  tried  to 
keep  the  whole  skin  but  the  white  ants  got  at  it." 

"  Been  trading  up  there?  "  I  asked. 

"Nothing  so  useful,"  he  said.  "Just  idling  and 
shooting.  Came  to  this  country  because  it  was  one  of 
the  very  few  I  had  never  seen,  and  have  only  been  here 
a  year.    I  think  I  have  had  about  enough  of  it,  though. 


QUATERMAIN  MEETS  ANSCOMBE      5 

Can  you  tell  me  of  any  boats  running  from  Durban  to 
India?  I  should  like  to  see  those  wild  sheep  in 
Kashmir." 

I  told  him  that  I  did  not  know  for  certain  as  I  had 
never  taken  any  interest  in  India,  being  an  African 
elephant-hunter  and  trader,  but  I  thought  they  did 
occasionally.  Just  then  Robinson  passed  by  and  called 
to  me — 

"  They'll  be  here  presently,  Quatermain,  but  Somp- 
seu  isn't  coming,  himself." 

"  Does  your  name  happen  to  be  Allan  Quater- 
main?" asked  the  stranger.  "If  so  I  have  heard 
plenty  about  you  up  in  Lobengula's  country,  and  of 
your  wonderful  shooting." 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  "  but  as  for  the  shooting,  natives 
always  exaggerate." 

"  They  never  exaggerated  about  mine,"  he  said  with 
a  twinkle  in  his  eye.  *'  Anyhow  I  am  very  glad  to 
see  you  in  the  flesh,  though  in  the  spirit  you  rather 
bored  me  because  I  heard  too  much  of  you.  Whenever 
I  made  a  particularly  bad  miss,  my  gun-bearer,  who  at 
some  time  seems  to  have  been  yours,  would  say,  *  Ah ! 
if  only  it  had  been  the  Inkosi  Macumazahn,  how  differ- 
ent would  have  been  the  end ! '  My  name  is  Ans- 
combe,  Maurice  Anscombe,"  he  added  rather  shyly. 
(Afterwards  I  discovered  from  a  book  of  reference 
that  he  was  a  younger  son  of  Lord  Mountford,  one 
of  the  richest  peers  in  England.) 

Then  we  both  laughed  and  he  said — 

''  Tell  me,  Mr.  Quatermain,  if  you  will,  what  those 
Boers  are  saying  behind  us.  I  am  sure  it  is  something 
unpleasant,  iDut  as  the  only  Dutch  I  know  is  '  Guten 
Tag'  and  'Vootsack'  (Good-day  and  Get  out)  that 
takes  me  no  forwarder." 


6  FINISHED 

'*  It  ought  to,"  I  answered,  ''  for  the  substance  of 
their  talk  is  that  they  object  to  be  '  vootsacked  '  by  the 
British  Government  as  represented  by  Sir  Theophilus 
Shepstone.  They  are  declaring  that  they  won  the  land 
'  with  their  blood '  and  want  to  keep  their  own  flag 
flying  over  it." 

"  A  very  natural  sentiment,"  broke  in  Anscombe. 

"They  say  that  they  wish  to  shoot  all  damned 
Englishmen,  especially  Shepstone  and  his  people,  and 
that  they  would  make  a  beginning  now  were  they  not 
afraid  that  the  damned  English  Government,  being 
angered,  would  send  thousands  of  damned  English 
rooibatjes,  that  is,  red-coats,  and  shoot  them  out  of 
evil  revenge." 

**  A  very  natural  conclusion,"  laughed  Anscombe 
again,  "  which  I  should  advise  them  to  leave  untested. 
Hush !    Here  comes  the  show." 

I  looked  and  saw  a  body  of  blackcoated  gentlemen 
with  one  officer  in  the  uniform  of  a  Colonel  of 
Engineers,  advancing  slowly.  I  remember  that  it 
reminded  me  of  a  funeral  procession  following  the 
corpse  of  the  Republic  that  had  gone  on  ahead  out  of 
sight.  The  procession  arrived  upon  the  stoep  opposite 
to  us  and  began  to  sort  itself  out,  whereon  the  English 
present  raised  a  cheer  and  the  Boers  behind  us  cursed 
audibly.  In  the  middle  appeared  an  elderly  gentleman 
with  whiskers  and  a  stoop,  in  whom  I  recognized  Mr. 
Osborn,  known  by  the  Kaffirs  as  Malimati,  the  Chief 
of  the  Staff.  By  his  side  was  a  tall  young  fellow,  your- 
self, my  friend,  scarcely  more  than  a  lad  then,  carrying 
papers.  The  rest  stood  to  right  and  left  in  a  formal  line. 
You  gave  a  printed  document  to  Mr.  Osborn  who  put 
on  his  glasses  and  began  to  read  in  a  low  voice  which 
few  could  hear,  and  I  noticed  that  his  hand  trembled. 


QUATERMAIN  MEETS  ANSCOMBE      7 

Presently  he  grew  confused,  lost  his  place,  found  it, 
lost  it  again  and  came  to  a  full  stop. 

"  A  nervous-natured  man,"  remarked  Mr.  Ans- 
combe.  "  Perhaps  he  thinks  that  those  gentlemen  are 
going  to  shoot.'* 

"That  wouldn't  trouble  him,"  I  answered,  who 
knew  him  well.  '*  His  fears  are  purely  mental.'* 

That  was  true  since  I  know  that  this  same  Sir 
Melmoth  Osborn  as  he  is  now,  as  I  have  told  in  the 
book  I  called  Child  of  Storm,  swam  the  Tugela  alone 
to  watch  the  great  iDattle  of  Indondakasuka  raging 
round  him,  and  on  another  occasion  killed  two  Kaffirs 
rushing  at  him  with  a  right  and  left  shot  without  turn- 
ing a  hair.  It  was  reading  this  paper  that  paralyzed 
him,  not  any  fear  of  what  might  happen. 

There  followed  a  very  awkward  pause  such  as 
occurs  when  a  man  breaks  down  in  a  speech.  The 
members  of  the  Staff  looked  at  him  and  at  each  other, 
then  behold!  you,  my  friend,  grabbed  the  paper  from 
his  hand  and  went  on  reading  it  in  a  loud  clear  voice. 

"  That  young  man  has  plenty  of  nerve,"  said  Mr. 
Anscombe. 

''  Yes,"  I  replied  in  a  whisper.  "  Quite  right  though. 
Would  have  been  a  bad  omen  if  the  thing  had  come  to 
a  stop." 

Well,  there  were  no  more  breakdowns,  and  at  last 
the  long  document  was  finished  and  the  Transvaal 
annexed.  The  Britishers  began  to  cheer  but  stopped 
to  listen  to  the  formal  protest  of  the  Boer  Government, 
if  it  could  be  called  a  government  when  everything 
had  collapsed  and  the  officials  were  being  paid  in  post- 
age stamps.  I  can't  remember  whether  this  was  read 
by  President  Burgers  himself  or  by  the  officer  who  was 
called  State  Secretary.     Anyway,  it  was  read,  after 


8  FINISHED 

which  there  came  an  awkward  pause  as  though  people 
were  waiting  to  see  something  happen.  I  looked  round 
at  the  Boers  who  were  muttering  and  handling  their 
rifles  uneasily.  Had  they  found  a  leader  I  really  think 
that  some  of  the  wilder  spirits  among  them  would  have 
begun  to  shoot,  but  none  appeared  and  the  crisis 
passed. 

The  crowd  began  to  disperse,  the  English  among 
them  cheering  and  throwing  up  their  hats,  the  Dutch 
with  very  sullen  faces.  The  Commissioner's  staff  went 
away  as  it  had  come  back  to  the  building  with  blue 
gums  in  front  of  it,  which  afterwards  became  Govern- 
ment House,  that  is  all  except  you.  You  started  across 
the  square  alone  with  a  bundle  of  printed  proclama- 
tions in  your  hand  which  evidently  you  had  been 
charged  to  leave  at  the  various  public  offices. 

'*  Let  us  follow  him,"  I  said  to  Mr.  Anscombe.  "  He 
might  get  into  trouble  and  want  a  friend." 

He  nodded  and  we  strolled  after  you  unostenta- 
tiously. Sure  enough  you  nearly  did  get  into  trouble. 
In  front  of  the  first  office  door  to  which  you  came, 
stood  a  group  of  Boers,  two  of  whom,  big  fellows, 
drew  together  with  the  evident  intention  of  barring 
your  way. 

"  Mynheeren,"  you  said,  "  I  pray  you  to  let  me  pass 
on  the  Queen's  business." 

They  took  no  heed  except  to  draw  closer  together 
and  laugh  insolently.  Again  you  made  your  request 
and  again  they  laughed.  Then  I  saw  you  lift  your 
leg  and  deliberately  stamp  upon  the  foot  of  one  of  the 
Boers.  He  drew  back  with  an  exclamation,  and  for  a 
moment  I  believed  that  he  or  his  fellow  was  going  to 
do  something  violent.  Perhaps  they  thought  better  of 
it,  or  perhaps  they  saw  us  two  Englishmen  behind  and 


QUATERMAIN  MEETS  ANSCOMBE      9 

noticed  Anscombe's  pistol.  At  any  rate  you  marched 
into  the  office  triumphant  and  delivered  your  docu- 
ment. 

''  Neatly  done,"  said  Mr.  Anscombe. 

"  Rash,"  I  said,  shaking  my  head,  "  very  rash.  Well, 
he's  young  and  must  be  excused." 

But  from  that  moment  I  took  a  great  liking  to  you, 
my  friend,  perhaps  because  I  wondered  whether  in 
your  place  I  should  have  been  daredevil  enough  to  act 
in  the  same  way.  For  you  see  I  am  English,  and  I 
like  to  see  an  Englishman  hold  his  own  against  odds 
and  keep  up  the  credit  of  the  country.  Although,  of 
course,  I  sympathized  with  the  Boers  who,  through 
their  own  fault,  were  losing  their  land  without  a  blow 
struck.  As  you  know  well,  for  you  were  living  near 
Majuba  at  the  time,  plenty  of  blows  were  struck  after- 
wards, but  of  that  business  I  cannot  bear  to  write.  I 
wonder  how  it  will  all  work  out  after  I  am  dead  and 
if  I  shall  ever  learn  what  happens  in  the  end. 

Now  I  have  only  mentioned  this  business  of  the 
Annexation  and  the  part  you  played  in  it,  because  it 
was  on  that  occasion  that  I  became  acquainted  with 
Anscombe.  For  you  have  nothing  to  do  with  this 
story  which  is  about  the  destruction  of  the  Zulus,  the 
accomplishment  of  the  vengeance  of  Zikali  the  wizard 
at  the  kraal  named  Finished,  and,  incidentally,  the  love 
affairs  of  two  people  in  which  that  old  wizard  took  a 
hand,  as  I  did  to  my  sorrow. 

It  happened  that  Mr.  Anscombe  had  ridden  on  ahead 
of  his  wagons  which  could  not  arrive  at  Pretoria  for 
a  day  or  two,  and  as  he  found  it  impossible  to  get  ac- 
commodation at  the  European  or  elsewhere,  I  offered 
to  let  him  sleep  in  mine,  or  rather  alongside  in  a  tent 
I  had.     He  accepted  and  soon  we  became  very  good 


lO  FINISHED 

friends.  Before  the  day  was  out  I  discovered  that  he 
had  served  in  a  crack  cavalry  regiment,  but  resigned 
his  commission  some  years  before.  I  asked  him 
why. 

''  Well,"  he  said,  "  I  came  into  a  good  lot  of  money 
on  my  mother's  death  and  could  not  see  a  prospect  of 
any  active  service.  While  the  regiment  was  abroad  I 
liked  the  life  well  enough,  but  at  home  it  bored  me. 
Too  much  society  for  my  taste,  and  that  sort  of  thing. 
Also  I  wanted  to  travel;  nothing  else  really  amuses 
me. 

"  You  will  soon  get  tired  of  it,"  I  answered,  "  and 
as  you  are  well  off,  marry  some  fine  lady  and  settle 
down  at  home." 

"  Don't  think  so.  I  doubt  if  I  should  ever  be  happy 
married.  I  want  too  much.  One  doesn't  pick  up  an 
earthly  angel  with  a  cast-iron  constitution  who  adores 
you,  which  are  the  bare  necessities  of  marriage,  under 
every  bush."  Here  he  laughed.  "  Also,"  he  added, 
the  laughter  going  out  of  his  eyes,  "  I  have  had  enough 
of  fine  ladies  and  their  ways." 

"  Marriage  is  better  than  scrapes,"  I  remarked  sen- 
tentiously. 

"  Quite  so,  but  one  might  get  them  both  together. 
No,  I  shall  never  marry,  although  I  suppose  I  ought 
as  my  brothers  have  no  children." 

"  Won't  you,  my  friend,"  thought  I  to  myself, 
"  when  the  skin  grows  again  on  your  burnt  fingers." 

For  I  was  sure  they  had  been  burnt,  perhaps  more 
than  once.  How,  I  never  learned,  for  which  I  am 
rather  sorry,  for  it  interests  me  to  study  burnt  fingers, 
if  they  do  not  happen  to  be  my  own.  Then  we  changed 
the  subject. 

Anscombe's  wagons  were  delayed  for  a  day  or  two 


QUATERMAIN  MEETS  ANSCOMBE    ii 

by  a  broken  axle  or  a  bog  hole,  I  forget  which.  So, 
as  I  had  nothing  particular  to  do  until  the  Natal  post- 
cart  left,  we  spent  the  time  in  wandering  about 
Pretoria,  which  did  not  take  us  long  as  it  was  but  a 
little  dorp  in  those  days,  and  chatting  with  all  and 
sundry.  Also  we  went  up  to  Government  House  as  it 
was  now  called,  and  left  cards,  or  rather  wrote  our 
names  in  a  book  for  we  had  no  cards,  being  told  by 
one  of  the  Staff  whom  we  met  that  we  should  do  so. 
An  hour  later  a  note  arrived  asking  us  both  to  dinner 
that  night,  and  telling  us  very  nicely  not  to  mind  if  we 
had  no  dress  things.  Of  course  we  had  to  go,  Ans- 
combe  rigged  up  in  my  second  best  clothes  that  did  not 
fit  him  in  the  least,  as  he  was  a  much  taller  man  than 
I  am,  and  a  black  satin  bow  that  he  had  bought 
at  Becket's  Store  together  with  a  pair  of  shiny 
pumps. 

I  actually  met  you,  my  friend,  for  the  first  time  that 
evening,  and  in  trouble  too,  though  you  may  have  for- 
gotten the  incident.  We  had  made  a  mistake  about  the 
time  of  dinner,  and  arriving  half  an  hour  too  soon, 
were  shown  into  a  long  room  that  opened  on  to  the 
verandah.  You  were  working  there,  being,  I  believe, 
a  private  secretary  at  the  time,  copying  some  despatch ; 
I  think  you  said  that  which  gave  an  account  of  the 
Annexation.  The  room  was  lit  by  a  parafBn  lamp 
behind  you,  for  it  was  quite  dark,  and  the  window  was 
open,  or  at  any  rate  unshuttered.  The  gentleman  who 
showed  us  in,  seeing  that  you  were  very  busy,  took  us 
to  the  far  end  of  the  room,  where  we  stood  talking  in 
the  shadow.  Just  then  a  door  opened  opposite  to  that 
which  led  to  the  verandah,  and  through  it  came  His 
Excellency  the  Administrator,  Sir  Theophilus  Shep- 
stone,  a  stout  man  of  medium  height  with  a  very 


12  FINISHED 

clever,  thoughtful  face,  as  I  have  always  thought,  one 
of  the  greatest  of  African  statesmen.  He  did  not  see 
us,  but  he  caught  sight  of  you  and  said  testily — 

"  Are  you  mad? "  To  w^hich  you  answered  with  a 
laugh — 

"  I  hope  not  more  than  usual.  Sir,  but  why?  " 

"  Have  I  not  told  you  always  to  let  down  the  blinds 
after  dark  ?  Yet  there  you  sit  with  your  head  against 
the  light,  about  the  best  target  for  a  bullet  that  could 
be  imagined." 

"  I  don't  think  the  Boers  would  trouble  to  shoot  me, 
Sir.  If  you  had  been  here  I  would  have  drawn  the 
blinds  and  shut  the  shutters  too,"  you  answered,  laugh- 
ing again. 

''  Go  to  dress  or  you  will  be  late  for  dinner,"  he  said, 
still  rather  sternly,  and  you  went.  But  when  you  had 
gone  and  after  we  had  been  announced  to  him,  he 
smiled  and  added  something  which  I  will  not  repeat 
to  you  even  now.  I  think  it  was  about  what  you  did 
on  the  Annexation  day  of  which  the  story  had  come 
to  him. 

I  mention  this  incident  because  whenever  I  think  of 
Shepstone,  whom  I  had  known  off  and  on  for  years 
in  the  way  that  a  hunter  knows  a  prominent  Govern- 
ment official,  it  always  recurs  to  my  mind,  embodying 
as  it  does  his  caution  and  appreciation  of  danger  de- 
rived from  long  experience  of  the  country,  and  the 
sternness  he  sometimes  affected  which  could  never 
conceal  his  love  towards  his  friends.  Oh!  there  was 
greatness  in  this  man,  although  they  did  call  him  an 
"  African  Talleyrand."  If  it  had  not  been  so  would 
every  native  from  the  Cape  to  the  Zambezi  have  known 
and  revered  his  name  as  perhaps  that  of  no  other  white 
man  has  been  revered  ?    But  I  must  get  on  with  my  tale 


QUATERMAIN  MEETS  ANSCOMBE    13 

and  leave  historical  discussions  to  others  more  fitted 
to  deal  with  them. 

We  had  a  very  pleasant  dinner  that  night,  although 
I  v^as  so  ashamed  of  my  clothes  with  smart  uniforms 
and  white  ties  all  about  me,  and  Anscombe  kept  fidget- 
ting  his  feet  because  he  was  suffering  agony  from  his 
new  pumps  which  were  a  size  too  small.  Everybody 
was  in  the  best  of  spirits,  for  from  all  directions  came 
the  news  that  the  Annexation  was  well  received  and 
that  the  danger  of  any  trouble  had  passed  away.  Ah ! 
if  we  had  only  known  what  the  end  of  it  would  be! 

It  was  on  our  way  back  to  the  wagon  that  I  chanced 
to  mention  to  Anscombe  that  there  was  still  a  herd  of 
buffalo  within  a  few  days'  trek  of  Lydenburg,  of  which 
I  had  shot  two  not  a  month  before. 

*'  Are  there,  by  Jove !  "  he  said.  "  As  it  happens  I 
never  got  a  buffalo;  always  just  missed  them  in  one 
sense  or  another,  and  I  can't  leave  Africa  with  a  pair 
of  bought  horns.    Let's  go  there  and  shoot  some." 

I  shook  my  head  and  replied  that  I  had  been  idling 
long  enough  and  must  try  to  make  some  money,  news 
at  which  he  seemed  very  disappointed. 

"  Look  here,"  he  said,  "  forgive  me  for  mentioning 
it,  but  business  is  business.  If  you'll  come  you  shan't 
be  a  loser." 

Again  I  shook  my  head,  whereat  he  looked  more 
disappointed  than  before. 

''  Very  well,"  he  exclaimed,  "  then  I  must  go  alone. 
For  kill  a  buffalo  I  will ;  that  is  unless  the  buffalo  kills 
me,  in  which  case  my  blood  will  be  on  your  hands." 

I  don't  know  why,  but  at  that  moment  there  came 
into  my  mind  a  conviction  that  if  he  did  go  alone  a 
buffalo  or  something  would  kill  him  and  that  then  I 
should  be  sorry  all  my  life. 


14  FINISHED 

"  They  are  dangerous  brutes,  much  worse  than 
lions,"  I  said. 

"  And  yet  you,  who  pretend  to  have  a  conscience, 
would  expose  me  to  their  rage  unprotected  and  alone," 
he  replied  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye  which  I  could  see 
even  by  moonlight.  "  Oh !  Quatermain,  how  I  have 
been  mistaken  in  your  character." 

"  Look  here,  Mr.  Anscombe,"  I  said,  *'  it's  no  use. 
I  cannot  possibly  go  on  a  shooting  expedition  with  you 
just  now.  Only  to-day  I  have  heard  from  Natal  that 
my  boy  is  not  well  and  must  undergo  an  operation 
which  will  lay  him  up  for  quite  six  weeks,  and  may 
be  dangerous.  So  I  must  get  down  to  Durban  before 
it  takes  place.  After  that  I  have  a  contract  in  Mata- 
beleland  whence  you  have  just  come,  to  take  charge 
of  a  trading  store  there  for  a  year;  also  perhaps  to 
try  to  shoot  a  little  ivory  for  myself.  So  I  am  fully 
booked  up  till,  let  us  say,  October,  1878,  that  is  for 
about  eighteen  months,  by  which  time  I  daresay  I  shall 
be  dead." 

**  Eighteen  months,"  replied  this  cool  young  man. 
"  That  will  suit  me  very  well.  I  will  go  on  to  India 
as  I  intended,  then  home  for  a  bit  and  will  meet  you 
on  the  1st  of  October,  1878,  after  which  we  will  pro- 
ceed to  the  Lydenburg  district  and  shoot  those  buffalo, 
or  if  they  have  departed,  other  buffalo.  Is  it  a 
bargain?  " 

I  stared  at  him,  thinking  that  the  Administrator's 
champagne  had  got  into  his  head. 

"  Nonsense,"  I  exclaimed.  "  Who  knows  where  you 
will  be  in  eighteen  months?  Why,  by  that  time  you 
will  have  forgotten  all  about  me." 

"  If  I  am  alive  and  well,  on  the  ist  of  October,  1878, 
I  shall  be  exactly  where  I  am  now,  upon  this  very 


QUATERMAIN  MEETS  ANSCOMBE    15 

square  in  Pretoria,  with  a  wagon,  or  wagons,  prepared 
for  a  hunting  trip.  But  as  not  unnaturally  you  have 
doubts  upon  that  point,  I  am  prepared  to  pay  forfeit 
if  I  fail,  or  even  if  circumstances  cause  you  to  fail." 

Here  he  took  a  cheque-book  from  his  letter-case  and 
spread  it  out  on  the  little  table  in  the  tent,  on  which 
there  were  ink  and  a  pen,  adding — 

"  Now,  Mr.  Quatermain,  will  it  meet  your  views  if 
I  fill  this  up  for  £250?" 

"  No,"  I  answered ;  "  taking  everything  into  consid- 
eration the  sum  is  excessive.  But  if  you  do  not  mind 
facing  the  risks  of  my  non-appearance,  to  say  nothing 
of  your  own,  you  may  make  it  £50." 

"  You  are  very  moderate  in  your  demands,"  he  said 
as  he  handed  me  the  cheque  which  I  put  in  my  pocket, 
reflecting  that  it  would  just  pay  for  my  son's  operation. 

"  And  you  are  very  foolish  in  your  offers,"  I  replied. 
"  Tell  me,  why  do  you  make  such  crack-brained 
arrangements?  " 

"  I  don't  quite  know.  Something  in  me  seems  to 
say  that  we  shall  make  this  expedition  and  that  it  will 
have  a  very  important  effect  upon  my  life.  Mind  you, 
it  is  to  be  to  the  Lydenburg  district  and  nowhere  else. 
And  now  I  am  tired,  so  let's  turn  in." 

Next  morning  we  parted  and  went  our  separate 
ways. 


CHAPTER  II 

MR.    MARNHAM 

So  MUCH  for  preliminaries,  now  for  the  story. 

The  eighteen  months  had  gone  by,  bringing  with 
them  to  me  their  share  of  adventure,  weal  and  woe, 
with  all  of  which  at  present  I  have  no  concern.  Behold 
me  arriving  very  hot  and  tired  in  the  post-cart  from 
Kimberley  whither  I  had  gone  to  invest  what  I  had 
saved  out  of  my  Matabeleland  contract  in  a  very  prom- 
ising speculation  whereof,  to-day,  the  promise  remains 
and  no  more.  I  had  been  obliged  to  leave  Kimberley 
in  a  great  hurry,  before  I  ought  indeed,  because  of 
the  silly  bargain  which  I  have  just  recorded.  Of 
course  I  was  sure  that  I  should  never  see  Mr.  Ans- 
combe  again,  especially  as  I  had  heard  nothing  of 
him  during  all  this  while,  and  had  no  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  he  was  in  Africa.  Still  I  had  taken  his 
£50  and  he  might  come.  Also  I  have  always  prided 
myself  upon  keeping  an  appointment. 

The  post-cart  halted  with  a  jerk  in  front  of  the 
European  Hotel,  and  I  crawled,  dusty  and  tired,  from 
its  interior,  to  find  myself  face  to  face  with  Anscombe 
who  was  smoking  a  pipe  upon  the  stoep ! 

"  Hello,  Quatermain,"  he  said  in  his  pleasant,  drawl- 
ing voice,  **  here  you  are,  up  to  time.  I  have  been 
making  bets  with  these  five  gentlemen,"  and  he  nodded 
at  a  group  of  loungers  on  the  stoep,  "  as  to  whether 
you  would  or  would  not  appear,  I  putting  ten  to  one  on 

16 


MR.  MARNHAM  17 

you  in  drinks.  Therefore  you  must  now  consume  five 
whiskies  and  sodas,  which  will  save  them  from  con- 
suming fifty  and  a  subsequent  appearance  at  the  Police 
Court." 

I  laughed  and  said  I  would  be  their  debtor  to  the 
extent  of  one,  which  was  duly  produced. 

After  it  was  drunk  Anscombe  and  I  had  a  chat.  He 
said  that  he  had  been  to  India,  shot,  or  shot  at  what- 
ever game  he  meant  to  kill  there,  visited  his  relations 
in  England  and  thence  proceeded  to  keep  his  appoint- 
ment v^ith  me  in  Africa.  At  Durban  he  had  fitted 
himself  out  in  a  regal  way  with  two  wagons,  full  teams 
and  some  spare  oxen,  and  trekked  to  Pretoria  where 
he  had  arrived  a  few  days  before.  Now  he  was  ready 
to  start  for  the  Lydenburg  district  and  look  for  those 
buffalo. 

"  But,"  I  said,  ''  the  buffalo  have  probably  long  ago 
departed.  Also  there  has  been  a  war  with  Sekukuni, 
the  Basuto  chief  who  rules  all  that  country,  which 
remains  undecided,  although  I  believe  some  kind  of  a 
peace  has  been  patched  up.  This  may  make  hunting 
in  his  neighbourhood  dangerous.  Why  not  try  some 
other  ground,  to  the  north  of  the  Transvaal,  for 
instance  ?  " 

''  Quatermain,"  he  answered,  "  I  have  come  all  the 
way  from  England,  I  will  not  say  to  kill,  but  to  try  to 
kill  buffalo  in  the  Lydenburg  district,  with  you  if 
possible,  if  not,  without  you,  and  thither  I  am  going. 
If  you  think  it  unsafe  to  accompany  me,  don't  come;  I 
will  get  on  as  best  I  can  alone,  or  with  some  other 
skilled  person  if  I  can  find  one." 

''  If  you  put  it  like  that  I  shall  certainly  come,"  I 
replied,  "  with  the  proviso  that  should  the  buffalo 
prove  to  be  non-existent  or  the  pursuit  of  them  impos- 


i8  FINISHED 

sible,  we  either  give  up  the  trip,  or  go  somewhere  else, 
perhaps  to  the  country  at  the  back  of  Delagoa  Bay." 

*'  Agreed,"  he  said ;  after  which  we  discussed  terms, 
he  paying  me  my  salary  in  advance. 

On  further  consideration  we  determined,  as  two 
were  quite  unnecessary  for  a  trip  of  the  sort,  to  leave 
one  of  his  wagons  and  half  the  cattle  in  charge  of  a 
very  respectable  man,  a  farmer  who  lived  about  five 
miles  from  Pretoria  just  over  the  pass  near  to  the 
famous  Wonder-boom  tree  which  is  one  of  the  sights 
of  the  place.  Should  we  need  this  wagon  it  could 
always  be  sent  for;  or,  if  we  found  the  Lydenburg 
hunting-ground,  which  he  was  so  set  upon  visiting, 
unproductive  or  impossible,  we  could  return  to  Pretoria 
over  the  high-veld  and  pick  it  up  before  proceeding 
elsewhere. 

These  arrangements  took  us  a  couple  of  days  or  so. 
On  the  third  we  started,  without  seeing  you,  my 
friend,  or  any  one  else  that  I  knew,  since  just  at  that 
time  every  one  seemed  to  be  away  from  Pretoria. 
You,  I  remember,  had  by  now  become  the  Master  of 
the  High  Court  and  were,  they  informed  me  at  your 
office,  absent  on  circuit. 

The  morning  of  our  departure  was  particularly 
lovely  and  we  trekked  away  in  the  best  of  spirits,  as 
so  often  happens  to  people  who  are  marching  into 
trouble.  Of  our  journey  there  is  little  to  say  as  every- 
thing went  smoothly,  so  that  we  arrived  at  the  edge 
of  the  high-veld  feeling  as  happy  as  the  country  which 
has  no  history  is  reported  to  do.  Our  road  led  us  past 
the  little  mining  settlement  of  Pilgrim's  Rest  where  a 
number  of  adventurous  spirits,  most  of  them  Eng- 
lish, were  engaged  in  washing  for  gold,  a  job  at  which 
I  once  took  a  turn  near  this  very  place  without  any 


MR.  MARNHAM  19 

startling  success.  Of  the  locality  I  need  only  say  that 
the  mountainous  scenery  is  among  the  most  beautiful, 
the  hills  are  the  steepest  and  the  roads  are,  or  were,  the 
worst  that  I  have  ever  travelled  over  in  a  wagon. 

However,  ''  going  softly,"  as  the  natives  say,  we 
negotiated  them  without  accident  and,  leaving  Pil- 
grim's Rest  behind  us,  began  to  descend  towards  the 
low-veld  where  I  was  informed  a  herd  of  buffalo  could 
still  be  found,  since,  owing  to  the  war  with  Sekukuni, 
no  one  had  shot  at  them  of  late.  This  war  had  been 
suspended  for  a  while,  and  the  Landrost  at  Pilgrim's 
Rest  told  me  he  thought  it  would  be  safe  to  hunt  on 
the  borders  of  that  Chief's  country,  though  he  should 
not  care  to  do  so  himself. 

Game  of  the  smaller  sort  began  to  be  plentiful  about 
here,  so  not  more  than  a  dozen  miles  from  Pilgrim's 
Rest  we  outspanned  early  in  the  afternoon  to  try  to 
get  a  blue  wildebeeste  or  two,  for  I  had  seen  the 
spoor  of  these  creatures  in  a  patch  of  soft  ground,  or 
failing  them  some  other  buck.  Accordingly,  leaving 
the  wagon  by  a  charming  stream  that  wound  and 
gurgled  over  a  bed  of  granite,  we  mounted  our  salted 
horses,  which  were  part  of  Anscombe's  outfit,  and  set 
forth  rejoicing.  Riding  through  the  scattered  thorns 
and  following  the  spoor  where  I  could,  within  half 
an  hour  we  came  to  a  little  glade.  There,  not  fifty 
yards  away,  I  caught  sight  of  a  single  blue  wildebeeste 
bull  standing  in  the  shadow  of  the  trees  on  the  further 
side  of  the  glade,  and  pointed  out  the  ugly  beast,  for  it 
is  the  most  grotesque  of  all  the  antelopes,  to  Anscombe. 

"  Off  you  get,"  I  whispered.  "  It's  a  lovely  shot,  you 
can't  miss  it." 

"  Oh  can't  I !  "  replied  Anscombe.  "  Do  you  shoot?  " 
I  refused,  so  he  dismounted,  giving  me  his  horse  to 


20  FINISHED 

hold,  and  kneeling  down  solemnly  and  slowly  covered 
the  bull.  Bang  went  his  rifle,  and  I  saw  a  bough  about 
a  yard  above  the  wildebeeste  fall  on  to  its  back.  Off 
it  went  like  lightning,  whereon  Anscombe  let  drive 
with  the  left  barrel  of  the  Express,  almost  at  hazard 
as  it  seemed  to  me,  and  by  some  chance  hit  it  above  the 
near  fore-knee,  breaking  its  leg. 

"  That  was  a  good  shot,"  he  cried,  jumping  on  to 
his  horse. 

"  Excellent,"  I  answered.  "  But  w^hat  are  you  going 
to  do?" 

"  Catch  it.  It  is  cruel  to  leave  a  w^ounded  animal," 
and  off  he  started. 

Of  course  I  had  to  follow,  but  the  ensuing  ride 
remains  among  the  more  painful  of  my  hunting  mem- 
ories. We  tore  through  thorn  trees  that  scratched  my 
face  and  damaged  my  clothes;  we  struck  a  patch  of 
antbear  holes,  into  one  of  which  my  horse  fell  so  that 
my  stomach  bumped  against  its  head;  we  slithered 
down  granite  koppies  and,  this  was  the  worst  of  it,  at 
the  end  of  each  chapter,  so  to  speak,  always  caught 
sight  of  that  accursed  bull  which  I  fondly  hoped  would 
have  vanished  into  space.  At  length  after  half  an 
hour  or  so  of  this  game  we  reached  a  stretch  of  open, 
rolling  ground,  and  there  not  fifty  yards  ahead  of  us 
was  the  animal  still  going  like  a  hare,  though  how  it 
could  do  so  on  three  legs  I  am  sure  I  do  not  know.  We 
coursed  it  like  greyhounds,  till  at  last  Anscombe,  whose 
horse  was  the  faster,  came  alongside  of  the  exhausted 
creature,  whereon  it  turned  suddenly  and  charged. 

Anscombe  held  out  his  rifle  in  his  right  hand  and 
pulled  the  trigger,  which,  as  he  had  forgotten  to  re- 
load it,  was  a  mere  theatrical  performance.  Next 
second  there  was  such  a  mix-up  that  for  a  while  I  could 


MR.  MARNHAM  21 

not  distinguish  which  was  Anscombe,  which  was  the 
wildebeeste  and  which  was  the  horse.  They  all  seemed 
to  be  going  round  and  round  in  a  cloud  of  dust.  When 
things  settled  themselves  a  little  I  discovered  the  horse 
rolling  on  the  ground,  Anscombe  on  his  back  with  his 
hands  up  in  an  attitude  of  prayer  and  the  wildebeeste 
trying  to  make  up  its  mind  which  of  them  it  should 
finish  first.  I  settled  the  poor  thing's  doubts  by  shoot- 
ing it  through  the  heart,  which  I  flatter  myself  was 
rather  clever  of  me  under  the  circumstances.  Then 
I  dismounted  to  examine  Anscombe,  who,  I  presumed, 
was  done  for.  Not  a  bit  of  it.  There  he  sat  upon  the 
ground  blowing  like  a  blacksmith's  bellows  and  panting 
out — 

"  What  a  glorious  gallop.  I  finished  it  very  well, 
didn't  I  ?  You  couldn't  have  made  a  better  shot  your- 
self." 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  you  finished  it  very  well  as 
you  will  find  out  if  you  will  take  the  trouble  to  open 
your  rifle  and  count  your  cartridges.  I  may  add  that 
if  we  are  going  to  hunt  together  I  hope  you  will  never 
lead  me  such  a  fool's  chase  again." 

He  rose,  opened  the  rifle  and  saw  that  it  was  empty, 
for  although  he  had  never  reloaded  he  had  thrown 
out  the  two  cartridges  which  he  discharged  in  the 
glen. 

'*By  Jingo!"  he  said,  "you  must  have  shot  it, 
though  I  could  have  sworn  that  it  was  I.  Quatermain, 
has  it  ever  struck  you  what  a  strange  thing  is  the 
human  imagination?" 

"  Drat  the  human  imagination,"  I  answered,  wiping 
away  the  blood  that  was  trickling  into  my  eye  from  a 
thorn  scratch.  "  Let's  look  at  your  horse.  If  it  is 
lamed  you  will  have  to  ride  Imagination  back  to  the 


22  FINISHED 

wagon  which  must  be  six  miles  away,  that  is  if  we  can 
find  it  before  dark." 

Sighing  out  something  about  a  painfully  practical 
mind,  he  obeyed,  and  when  the  beast  was  proved  to  be 
nothing  more  than  blown  and  a  little  bruised,  made 
remarks  as  to  the  inadvisability  of  dwelling  on  future 
evil  events,  which  I  reminded  him  had  already  been 
better  summed  up  in  the  New  Testament. 

After  this  we  contemplated  the  carcase  of  the  wilde- 
beeste  which  it  seemed  a  pity  to  leave  to  rot.  Just  then 
Anscombe,  who  had  moved  a  few  yards  to  the  right 
out  of  the  shadow  of  an  obstructing  tree,  exclaimed — 

"  I  say,  Quatermain,  come  here  and  tell  me  if  I  have 
been  knocked  silly,  or  if  I  really  see  a  quite  uncommon 
kind  of  house  built  in  ancient  Grecian  style  set  in  a 
divine  landscape." 

"  Temple  to  Diana,  I  expect,"  I  remarked  as  I  joined 
him  on  the  further  side  of  the  tree. 

I  looked  and  rubbed  my  eyes.  There,  about  half  a 
mile  away,  situated  in  a  bay  of  the  sweeping  hills  and 
overlooking  the  measureless  expanse  of  bush-veld  be- 
neath, was  a  remarkable  house,  at  least  for  those  days 
and  that  part  of  Africa.  To  begin  with  the  situation 
was  superb.  It  stood  on  a  green  and  swelling  mound 
behind  which  was  a  wooded  kloof  where  ran  a  stream 
that  at  last  precipitated  itself  in  a  waterfall  over  a  great 
cliff.  Then  in  front  was  that  glorious  view  of  the 
bush-veld  at  which  a  man  might  look  for  a  lifetime 
and  not  grow  tired,  stretching  away  to  the  Oliphant's 
River  and  melting  at  last  into  the  dim  line  of  the 
horizon. 

The  house  itself  also,  although  not  large,  was  of  a 
kind  new  to  me.  It  was  deep,  but  narrow  fronted,  and 
before  it  were  four  columns  that  carried  the  roof  which 


MR.  MARNHAM  23 

projected  so  as  to  form  a  wide  verandah.  Moreover  it 
seemed  to  be  built  of  marble  which  glistened  like  snow 
in  the  setting  sun.  In  short  in  that  lonely  wilderness, 
at  any  rate  from  this  distance,  it  did  look  like  the 
deserted  shrine  of  some  forgotten  god. 

"  Well,  I'm  bothered !  "  I  said. 

"  So  am  I,"  answered  Anscombe,  "  to  know  the 
name  of  the  Lydenburg  district  architect  whom  I 
should  like  to  employ;  though  I  suspect  it  is  the  sur- 
roundings that  make  the  place  look  so  beautiful. 
Hullo !  here  comes  somebody,  but  he  doesn't  look  like 
an  architect;  he  looks  like  a  wicked  baronet  disguised 
as  a  Boer." 

True  enough,  round  a  clump  of  bush  appeared  an 
unusual  looking  person,  mounted  on  a  very  good  horse. 
He  was  tall,  thin  and  old,  at  least  he  had  a  long  white 
beard  which  suggested  age,  although  his  figure,  so  far 
as  it  could  be  seen  beneath  his  rough  clothes,  seemed 
vigorous.  His  face  was  clean-cut  and  handsome,  with 
a  rather  hooked  nose,  and  his  eyes  were  grey,  but  as  I 
saw  when  he  came  up  to  us,  somewhat  bloodshot  at  the 
corners.  His  general  aspect  was  refined  and  benevo- 
lent, and  as  soon  as  he  opened  his  mouth  I  perceived 
that  he  was  a  person  of  gentle  breeding.  And  yet  there 
was  something  about  him,  something  in  his  atmos- 
phere, so  to  speak,  that  I  did  not  like.  Before  we 
parted  that  evening  I  felt  sure  that  in  one  way  or 
another  he  was  a  wrong-doer,  not  straight;  also  that 
he  had  a  violent  temper. 

He  rode  up  to  us  and  asked  in  a  pleasant  voice, 
although  the  manner  of  his  question,  which  was  put 
in  bad  Dutch,  was  not  pleasant — 

"  Who  gave  you  leave  to  shoot  on  our  land? " 

"  I  did  not  know  that  any  leave  was  required ;  it  is 


24  FINISHED 

not  customary  in  these  parts,"  I  answered  politely  in 
English.  "  Moreover,  this  buck  was  wounded  miles 
away." 

"  Oh !  "  he  exclaimed  in  the  same  tongue,  *'  that 
makes  a  difference,  though  I  expect  it  was  still  on  our 
land,  for  we  have  a  lot ;  it  is  cheap  about  here."  Then 
after  studying  us  a  little,  he  added  apologetically, 
"  You  mustn't  think  me  strange,  but  the  fact  is  my 
daughter  hates  things  to  be  killed  near  the  house,  which 
is  why  there's  so  much  game  about." 

"  Then  pray  make  her  our  apologies,"  said  Ans- 
combe,  "  and  say  that  it  shall  not  happen  again." 

He  stroked  his  long  beard  and  looked  at  us,  for  by 
now  he  had  dismounted,  then  said — 

"  Might  I  ask  you  gentlemen  your  names  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  I  replied.  "  I  am  Allan  Quatermain 
and  my  friend  is  the  Hon.  Maurice  Anscombe." 

He  started  and  said — 

''  Of  Allan  Quatermain  of  course  I  have  heard.  The 
natives  told  me  that  you  were  trekking  to  these  parts ; 
and  if  you,  sir,  are  one  of  Lord  Mountford's  sons, 
oddly  enough  I  think  I  must  have  known  your  father 
in  my  youth.  Indeed  I  served  with  him  in  the 
Guards." 

"  How  very  strange,"  said  Anscombe.  "  He's  dead 
now  and  my  brother  is  Lord  Mountford.  Do  you 
like  life  here  better  than  that  in  the  Guards  ?  I  am  sure 
I  should." 

"  Both  of  them  have  their  advantages,"  he  answered 
evasively,  "  of  which,  if,  as  I  think,  you  are  also  a 
soldier,  you  can  judge  for  yourself.  But  won't  you 
come  up  to  the  house?  My  daughter  Heda  is  away, 
and  my  partner,  Mr.  Rodd  "  (as  he  mentioned  this 
name  I  saw  a  blue  vein,  which  showed  above  his  cheek 


MR.  MARNHAM  25 

bone,  swell  as  though  under  pressure  of  some  secret 
emotion),  "is  a  retiring  sort  of  a  man;  indeed  some 
might  think  him  sulky  until  they  came  to  know  him. 
Still,  we  can  make  you  comfortable  and  even  give  you 
a  decent  bottle  of  wine." 

*'  No,  thank  you  very  much,"  I  answered,  "  we  must 
get  back  to  the  wagon  or  our  servants  will  think  that 
we  have  come  to  grief.  Perhaps  you  will  accept  the 
wildebeeste  if  it  is  of  any  use  to  you." 

*'  Very  well,"  he  said  in  a  voice  that  suggested  regret 
struggling  with  relief.  To  the  buck  he  made  no  allu- 
sion, perhaps  because  he  considered  that  it  was  already 
his  own  property.  "  Do  you  know  your  way?  I  be- 
lieve your  wagon  is  camped  out  there  to  the  east  by 
what  we  call  the  Granite  stream.  If  you  follow  this 
Kaffir  path,"  and  he  pointed  to  a  track  near  by,  "  it 
will  take  you  quite  close." 

"  Where  does  the  path  run  to?  "  I  asked.  "  There 
are  no  kraals  about,  are  there?  " 

"  Oh !  to  the  Temple,  as  my  daughter  calls  our  house. 
My  partner  and  I  are  labour  agents,  we  recruit  natives 
for  the  Kimberley  Mines,"  he  said  in  explanation, 
adding,  "  Where  do  you  propose  to  shoot?  " 

I  told  him. 

'*  Isn't  that  rather  a  risky  district?"  he  said.  ''I 
think  that  Sekukuni  will  soon  be  giving  more  trouble, 
although  there  is  a  truce  between  him  and  the  English. 
Still  he  might  send  a  regiment  to  raid  that  way." 

I  wondered  how  our  friend  knew  so  much  of 
Sekukuni's  possible  intentions,  but  only  answered  that 
I  was  accustomed  to  deal  with  natives  and  did  not  fear 
them. 

"  Ah !  "  he  said,  "  well,  you  know  your  own  business 
best.     But  if  you  should  get  into  any  difficulty,  make 


26  FINISHED 

straight  for  this  place,  as  the  Basutos  will  not  interfere 
with  you  here." 

Again  I  wondered  why  the  Basutos  should  look  upon 
this  particular  spot  as  sacred,  but  thinking  it  wisest  to 
ask  no  questions,  I  only  answered — 

**  Thank  you  very  much.  We'll  bear  your  invitation 
in  mind,  Mr. " 

"  Marnham." 

"  Marnham,"  I  repeated  after  him.  *'  Good-bye  and 
many  thanks  for  your  kindness." 

"  One  question,"  broke  in  Anscombe,  "  if  you  will 
not  think  me  rude.  What  is  the  name  of  the  architect 
who  designed  that  most  romantic-looking  house  of 
yours  which  seems  to  be  built  of  marble?  " 

"  My  daughter  designed  it,  or  at  least  I  think  she 
copied  it  from  some  old  drawing  of  a  ruin.  Also  it  is 
marble ;  there's  a  whole  hill  of  the  stuff  not  a  hundred 
yards  from  the  door,  so  it  was  cheaper  to  use  than  any- 
thing else.  I  hope  you  will  come  and  see  it  on  your  way 
back,  though  it  is  not  as  fine  as  it  appears  from  a  dis- 
tance. It  would  be  very  pleasant  after  all  these  years 
to  talk  to  an  English  gentleman  again." 

Then  we  parted,  I  rather  offended  because  he  did  not 
seem  to  include  me  in  the  description,  he  calling  after 
us — 

"  Stick  close  to  the  path  through  the  patch  of  big 
trees,  for  the  ground  is  rather  swampy  there  and  it's 
getting  dark." 

Presently  we  came  to  the  place  he  mentioned  where 
the  timber,  although  scattered,  was  quite  large  for 
South  Africa,  of  the  yellow-wood  species,  and  inter- 
spersed wherever  the  ground  was  dry  with  huge 
euphorbias  of  which  the  tall  finger-like  growths  and 
sad  grey  colouring  looked  unreal  and  ghostlike  in  the 


MR.  MARNHAM  27 

waning  light.  Following  the  advice  given  to  us  we 
rode  in  single  file  along  the  narrow  path,  fearing  lest 
otherwise  we  should  tumble  into  some  bog  hole,  until 
we  came  to  higher  land  covered  with  the  scattered 
thorns  of  the  country. 

''  Did  that  bush  give  you  any  particular  impres- 
sion?" asked  Anscombe  a  minute  or  two  later. 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  it  gave  me  the  impression  that 
we  might  catch  fever  there.  See  the  mist  that  lies  over 
it,"  and  turning  in  my  saddle  I  pointed  with  the  rifle 
in  my  hand  to  what  looked  like  a  mass  of  cotton  wool 
over  which,  without  permeating  it,  hung  the  last  red 
glow  of  sunset,  producing  a  curious  and  indeed  rather 
unearthly  effect.  *' I  expect  that  thousands  of  years 
ago  there  was  a  lake  yonder,  which  is  why  trees  grow 
so  big  in  the  rich  soil." 

"You  are  curiously  mundane,  Quatermain,"  he 
answered.  "  I  ask  you  of  spiritual  impressions  and 
you  dilate  to  me  of  geological  formations  and  the 
growth  of  timber.  You  felt  nothing  in  the  spiritual 
line?" 

"  I  felt  nothing  except  a  chill,"  I  answered,  for  I  was 
tired  and  hungry.  ''  What  the  devil  are  you  driving 
at?" 

"  Have  you  got  that  flask  of  Hollands  about  you, 
Quatermain?  " 

"Oh!  those  are  the  spirits  you  are  alluding  to,"  I 
remarked  with  sarcasm  as  I  handed  it  to  him. 

He  took  a  good  pull  and  replied — 

"  Not  at  all,  except  in  the  sense  that  bad  spirits 
require  good  spirits  to  correct  them,  as  the  Bible 
teaches.  To  come  to  facts,"  he  added  in  a  changed 
voice,  "  I  have  never  been  in  a  place  that  depressed 
me  more  than  that  thrice  accursed  patch  of  bush." 


28  FINISHED 

'*  Why  did  it  depress  you?  "  I  asked,  studying  him 
as  well  as  I  could  in  the  fading  light.  To  tell  the  truth 
I  feared  lest  he  had  knocked  his  head  when  the  wilde- 
beeste  upset  him,  and  was  suffering  from  delayed 
concussion. 

*'  Can't  tell  you,  Quatermain.  I  don't  look  like  a 
criminal,  do  I?  Well,  I  entered  those  trees  feeling  a 
fairly  honest  man,  and  I  came  out  of  them  feeling  like 
a  murderer.  It  was  as  though  something  terrible  had 
happened  to  me ;  it  was  as  though  I  had  killed  some  one 
there.  Ugh !  "  and  he  shivered  and  took  another  pull 
at  the  Hollands. 

"  What  bosh!  "  I  said.  "  Besides,  even  if  it  were  to 
come  true,  I  am  sorry  to  say  I've  killed  lots  of  men  in 
the  way  of  business  and  they  don't  bother  me  over- 
much." 

*'  Did  you  ever  kill  one  to  win  a  woman? " 

"  Certainly  not.  Why,  that  would  be  murder.  How 
can  you  ask  me  such  a  thing  ?  But  I  have  killed  several 
to  win  cattle,"  I  reflected  aloud,  remembering  my  expe- 
dition with  Saduka  against  the  chief  Bangu,  and  some 
other  incidents  in  my  career. 

"  I  appreciate  the  difference,  Quatermain.  If  you 
kill  for  cows,  it  is  justifiable  homicide;  if  you  kill  for 
women,  it  is  murder." 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  "  that  is  how  it  seems  to  work  out 
in  Africa.  You  see,  women  are  higher  in  the  scale  of 
creation  than  cows,  therefore  crimes  committed  for 
their  sake  are  enormously  greater  than  those  committed 
for  cows,  which  just  makes  the  difference  between 
justifiable  homicide  and  murder." 

"  Good  lord !  what  an  argument,"  he  exclaimed  and 
relapsed  into  silence.  Had  he  been  accustomed  to 
natives  and  their  ways  he  would  have  understood  the 


MR.  MARNHAM  29 

point  much  better  than  he  did,  though  I  admit  it  is 
difficult  to  explain. 

In  due  course  we  reached  the  wagon  without  further 
trouble.  While  we  were  smoking  our  pipes  after  an 
excellent  supper  I  asked  Anscombe  his  impressions  of 
Mr.  Marnham. 

''  Queer  cove,  I  think,"  he  answered.  "  Been  a  gentle- 
man, too,  and  still  keeps  the  manners,  which  isn't 
strange  if  he  is  one  of  the  Marnhams,  for  they  are  a 
good  family.  I  wonder  he  mentioned  having  served 
with  my  father." 

"  It  slipped  out  of  him.  Men  who  live  a  lot  alone  are 
apt  to  be  surprised  into  saying  things  they  regret  after- 
wards, as  I  noticed  he  did.    But  why  do  you  wonder?  " 

"  Because  as  it  happens,  although  I  have  only  just 
recalled  it,  my  father  used  to  tell  some  story  about  a 
man  named  Marnham  in  his  regiment.  I  can't  remem- 
ber the  details,  but  it  had  to  do  with  cards  when  high 
stakes  were  being  played  for,  and  with  the  striking  of 
a  superior  officer  in  the  quarrel  that  ensued,  as  a  result 
of  which  the  striker  was  requested  to  send  in  his 
papers." 

"  It  may  not  have  been  the  same  man." 

"  Perhaps  not,  for  I  believe  that  more  than  one 
Marnham  served  in  that  regiment.  But  I  remember 
my  father  saying,  by  way  of  excuse  for  the  person 
concerned,  that  he  had  a  most  ungovernable  temper.  I 
think  he  added  that  he  left  the  country  and  took  service 
in  some  army  on  the  Continent.  I  should  rather  like 
to  clear  the  thing  up." 

"  It  isn't  probable  that  you  will,  for  even  if  you 
should  ever  meet  this  Marnham  again,  I  fancy  you 
would  find  he  held  his  tongue  about  his  acquaintance 
with  your  father." 


30  FINISHED 

''  I  wonder  what  Miss  Heda  is  like,"  went  on  Ans- 
combe  after  a  pause.  "  I  am  curious  to  see  a  girl  who 
designs  a  house  on  the  model  of  an  ancient  ruin." 

*'  Well,  you  won't,  for  she's  away  somewhere. 
Besides  we  are  looking  for  buffalo,  not  girls,  which  is 
a  good  thing  as  they  are  less  dangerous." 

I  spoke  thus  decisively  because  I  had  taken  a  dislike 
to  Mr.  Marnham  and  everything  to  do  with  him,  and 
did  not  wish  to  encourage  the  idea  of  further  meetings. 

'*  No,  never,  I  suppose.  And  yet  I  feel  as  though  I 
were  certainly  destined  to  see  that  accursed  Yellow- 
wood  swamp  again." 

"  Nonsense !  "  I  replied  as  I  rose  to  turn  in.  Ah !  if 
I  had  but  known! 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  HUNTERS   HUNTED 

While  I  was  taking  off  my  boots  I  heard  a  noise  of 
jabbering  in  some  native  tongue  which  I  took  to  be 
Sisutu,  and  not  wishing  to  go  to  the  trouble  of  putting 
them  on  again,  called  to  the  driver  of  the  wagon  to  find 
out  what  it  was.  This  man  was  a  Cape  Colony  Kaffir, 
a  Fingo  I  think,  with  a  touch  of  Hottentot  in  him.  He 
was  an  excellent  driver,  indeed  I  do  not  think  I  have 
ever  seen  a  better,  and  by  no  means  a  bad  shot.  Among 
Europeans  he  rejoiced  in  the  name  of  Footsack,  a  Boer 
Dutch  term  which  is  generally  addressed  to  trouble- 
some dogs  and  means  "  Get  out."  To  tell  the  truth, 
had  I  been  his  master  he  would  have  got  out,  as  I 
suspected  him  of  drinking,  and  generally  did  not  alto- 
gether trust  him.  Anscombe,  however,  was  fond  of 
him  because  he  had  shown  courage  in  some  hunting 
adventure  in  Matabeleland,  I  think  it  was  at  the  shoot- 
ing of  that  very  dark-coloured  lion  whose  skin  had 
been  the  means  of  making  us  acquainted  nearly  two 
years  before.  Indeed  he  said  that  on  this  occasion 
Footsack  had  saved  his  life,  though  from  all  that  I 
could  gather  I  do  not  think  this  was  quite  the  case. 
Also  the  man,  who  had  been  on  many  hunting  trips 
with  sportsmen,  could  talk  Dutch  well  and  English 
enough  to  make  himself  understood,  and  therefore  was 
useful. 

He  went  as  I  bade  him,  and  coming  back  presently, 

31 


32  FINISHED 

told  me  that  a  party  of  Basutos,  about  thirty  in  number, 
who  were  returning  from  Kimberley,  where  they  had 
been  at  work  in  the  mines,  under  the  leadership  of  a 
Bastard  named  Karl,  asked  leave  to  camp  by  the  wagon 
for  the  night,  as  they  were  afraid  to  go  on  to  "  Tam- 
pel  "  in  the  dark. 

At  first  I  could  not  make  out  what  "  Tampel "  was, 
as  it  did  not  sound  like  a  native  name.  Then  I  remem- 
bered that  Mr.  Marnham  had  spoken  of  his  house  as 
being  called  the  Temple,  of  which,  of  course,  Tampel 
was  a  corruption ;  also  that  he  said  he  and  his  partner 
were  labour  agents. 

''  Why  are  they  afraid?  "  I  asked. 

"  Because,  Baas,  they  say  that  they  must  go  through 
a  wood  in  a  swamp,  which  they  think  is  haunted  by 
spooks,  and  they  much  afraid  of  spooks  " ;  that  is  of 
ghosts. 

"What  spooks?"  I  asked. 

"  Don't  know,  Baas.  They  say  spook  of  some  one 
who  has  been  killed." 

"  Rubbish,"  I  replied.  ''  Tell  them  to  go  and  catch 
the  spook ;  we  don't  want  a  lot  of  noisy  fellows  howling 
chanties  here  all  night." 

Then  it  was  that  Anscombe  broke  in  in  his  humor- 
ous, rather  drawling  voice. 

"How  can  you  be  so  hard-hearted,  Quatermain? 
After  the  supernatural  terror  which,  as  I  told  you,  I 
experienced  in  that  very  place,  I  wouldn't  condemn  a 
kicking  mule  to  go  through  it  in  this  darkness.  Let 
the  poor  devils  stay;  I  daresay  they  are  tired." 

So  I  gave  in,  and  presently  saw  their  fires  beginning 
to  burn  through  the  end  canvas  of  the  wagon  which 
was  unlaced  because  the  night  was  hot.  Also  later  on 
I  woke  up,  about  midnight  I  think,  and  heard  voices 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED  33 

talking,  one  of  which  I  reflected  sleepily,  sounded  very 
like  that  of  Footsack. 

Waking  very  early,  as  is  my  habit,  I  peeped  out  of 
the  wagon,  and  through  the  morning  mist  perceived 
Footsack  in  converse  with  a  particularly  villainous- 
looking  person.  I  at  once  concluded  this  must  be  Karl, 
evidently  a  Bastard  compounded  of  about  fifteen  parts 
of  various  native  bloods  to  one  of  white,  who,  to  add 
to  his  attractions,  was  deeply  scarred  with  smallpox 
and  possessed  a  really  alarming  squint.  It  seemed  to 
me  that  Footsack  handed  to  this  man  something  that 
looked  suspiciously  like  a  bottle  of  squareface  gin 
wrapped  up  in  dried  grass,  and  that  the  man  handed 
back  to  Footsack  some  small  object  which  he  put  in 
his  mouth. 

Now,  I  wondered  to  myself,  what  is  there  of  value 
that  one  who  does  not  eat  sweets  would  stow  away 
in  his  mouth  ?  Gold  coin  perhaps,  or  a  quid  of  tobacco, 
or  a  stone.  Gold  was  too  much  to  pay  for  a  bottle  of 
gin,  tobacco  was  too  little,  but  how  about  the  stone? 
What  stone?  Who  wanted  stones?  Then  suddenly 
I  remembered  that  these  people  were  said  to  come  from 
Kimberley,  and  whistled  to  myself.  Still  I  did  nothing, 
principally  because  the  mist  was  still  so  dense  that 
although  I  could  see  the  men's  faces,  I  could  not  clearly 
see  the  articles  which  they  passed  to  each  other  about 
two  feet  lower,  where  it  still  lay  very  thickly,  and  to 
bring  any  accusation  against  a  native  which  he  can 
prove  to  be  false  is  apt  to  destroy  authority.  So  I  held 
my  tongue  and  waited  my  chance.  It  did  not  come  at 
once,  for  before  I  was  dressed  those  Basutos  had  de- 
parted together  with  their  leader  Karl,  for  now  that 
the  sun  was  up  they  no  longer  feared  the  haunted 
bush. 


34  FINISHED 

It  came  later,  thus :  We  were  trekking  along  between 
the  thorns  upon  a  level  and  easy  track  which  enabled 
the  driver  Footsack  to  sit  upon  the  voorkisse  or  driving 
box  of  the  wagon,  leaving  the  lad  who  is  called  the 
voorlooper  to  lead  the  oxen.  Anscombe  was  riding 
parallel  to  the  wagon  in  the  hope  of  killing  some 
guineafowl  for  the  pot  (though  a  very  poor  shot  with 
a  rifle  he  was  good  with  a  shotgun).  I,  who  did  not 
care  for  this  small  game,  was  seated  smoking  by  the 
side  of  Footsack  who,  I  noted,  smelt  of  gin  and  gen- 
erally showed  signs  of  dissipation.  Very  suddenly  I 
said  to  him — 

"  Show  me  that  diamond  which  the  Bastard  Karl 
gave  to  you  this  morning  in  payment  for  the  bottle  of 
your  master's  drink." 

It  was  a  bow  drawn  at  a  venture,  but  the  effect  of 
the  shot  was  remarkable.  Had  I  not  caught  it.  the 
long  bamboo  whip  Footsack  held  would  have  fallen  to 
the  ground,  while  he  collapsed  in  his  seat  like  a  man 
who  has  received  a  bullet  in  his  stomach. 

**  Baas !  "  he  gasped, ''  Baas,  how  did  you  know?  " 

'*  I  knew,"  I  replied  grandly,  "  in  the  same  way  that 
I  know  everything.     Show  me  the  diamond." 

"  Baas,"  he  said,  "  it  was  not  the  Baas  Anscombe's 
gin,  it  was  some  I  bought  in  Pilgrim's  Rest." 

"  I  have  counted  the  bottles  in  the  case  and  know 
very  well  whose  gin  it  was,"  I  replied  ambiguously,  for 
the  reason  that  I  had  done  nothing  of  the  sort.  "  Show 
me  the  diamond." 

Footsack  fumbled  about  his  person,  his  hair,  his 
waistcoat  pockets  and  even  his  moocha,  and  ultimately 
from  somewhere  produced  a  stone  which  he  handed  to 
me.  I  looked  at  it,  and  from  the  purity  of  colour  and 
size,  judged  it  to  be  a  diamond  worth  £200,  or  possibly 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED  35 

more.     After  careful  examination  I  put  it  into  my 
pocket,  saying, 

"  This  is  the  price  of  your  master's  gin  and  therefore 
belongs  to  him  as  much  as  it  does  to  anybody.  Now  if 
you  want  to  keep  out  of  trouble,  tell  me — whence  came 
it  into  the  hands  of  that  man,  Karl?  " 

*'  Baas,"  replied  Footsack,  trembling  all  over,  *'  how 
do  I  know  ?  He  and  the  rest  have  been  working  at  the 
mines ;  I  suppose  he  found  it  there." 

*'  Indeed !  And  did  he  find  others  of  the  same 
sort?" 

''  I  think  so.  Baas.  At  least  he  said  that  he  had  been 
buying  bottles  of  gin  with  such  stones  all  the  way  down 
from  Kimberley.  Karl  is  a  great  drunkard,  Baas,  as 
I  am  sure,  who  have  known  him  for  years." 

''  That  is  not  all,"  I  remarked,  keeping  my  eyes  fixed 
on  him.    ''  What  else  did  he  say?  " 

"  He  said,  Baas,  that  he  was  very  much  afraid  of 
returning  to  the  Baas  Marnham  whom  the  Kafirs  call 
Whitebeard,  with  only  a  few  stones  left." 

''Why  was  he  afraid?" 

"  Because  the  Baas  Whitebeard,  he  who  dwells  at 
Tampel,  is,  he  says,  a  very  angry  man  if  he  thinks 
himself  cheated,  and  Karl  is  afraid  lest  he  should  kill 
him  as  another  was  killed,  he  whose  spook  haunts  the 
wood  through  which  those  silly  people  feared  to  pass 
last  night." 

"  Who  was  killed  and  who  killed  him?  "  I  asked. 

"  Baas,  I  don't  know,"  replied  Footsack,  collapsing 
into  sullen  silence  in  a  way  that  Kaffirs  have  when  sud- 
denly they  realize  that  they  have  said  too  much.  Nor 
did  I  press  the  matter  further,  having  learned  enough. 

What  had  I  learned?  This :  that  Messrs.  Marnham 
&  Rodd  were  illicit  diamond  buyers,  I.D.B.'s  as  they 


36  FINISHED 

are  called,  who  had  cunningly  situated  themselves  at  a 
great  distance  from  the  scene  of  operations  practically 
beyond  the  reach  of  civilized  law.  Probably  they  were 
engaged  also  in  other  nefarious  dealings  with  Kaffirs, 
such  as  supplying  them  with  guns  wherewith  to  make 
war  upon  the  Whites.  Sekukuni  had  been  fighting  us 
recently,  so  that  there  would  be  a  very  brisk  market 
for  rifles.  This,  too,  would  account  for  Marnham's 
apparent  knowledge  of  that  Chief's  plans.  Possibly, 
however,  he  had  no  knowledge  and  only  made  a  pre- 
tence of  it  to  keep  us  out  of  the  country. 

Later  on  I  confided  the  whole  story  and  my  suspi- 
cions to  Anscombe,  who  was  much  interested. 

"  What  picturesque  scoundrels ! "  he  exclaimed. 
"  We  really  ought  to  go  back  to  the  Temple.  I  have 
always  longed  to  meet  some  real  live  I.D.B.'s." 

**  It  is  probable  that  you  have  done  that  already 
without  knowing  it.  For  the  rest,  if  you  wish  to  visit 
that  den  of  iniquity,  you  must  do  so  alone." 

**  Wouldn't  whited  sepulchre  be  a  better  term,  espe- 
cially as  it  seems  to  cover  dead  men's  bones?"  he 
replied  in  his  frivolous  manner. 

Then  I  asked  him  what  he  was  going  to  do  about 
Footsack  and  the  bottle  of  gin,  which  he  countered 
by  asking  me  what  I  was  going  to  do  with  that 
diamond. 

"  Give  it  to  you  as  Footsack's  master,"  I  said,  suiting 
the  action  to  the  word.  "  I  don't  wish  to  be  mixed  up 
in  these  doubtful  transactions." 

Then  followed  a  long  argument  as  to  who  was  the 
real  owner  of  the  stone,  which  ended  in  its  being  hidden 
away  to  be  produced  if  called  for,  and  in  Footsack,  who 
ought  to  have  had  a  round  dozen,  receiving  a  scolding 
from  his  master,  coupled  with  the  threat  that  if  he  stole 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED  37 

more  gin  he  would  be  handed  over  fo  a  magistrate 
— when  we  met  one. 

On  the  following  day  we  reached  the  hot,  low-lying 
veld  which  the  herd  of  buffalo  was  said  to  inhabit. 
Next  morning,  however,  when  we  were  making  ready 
to  begin  hunting,  a  Basuto  Kaffir  appeared  who,  on 
being  questioned,  said  that  he  was  one  of  Sekukuni's 
people  sent  to  this  district  to  look  for  two  lost  oxen.  I 
did  not  believe  this  story,  thinking  it  more  probable 
that  he  was  a  spy,  but  asked  him  whether  in  his  hunt 
for  oxen  he  had  come  across  the  buffalo. 

He  replied  that  he  had,  a  herd  of  thirty-two  of  them, 
counting  the  calves,  but  that  they  were  over  the  Oli- 
phant's  River  about  five-and-twenty  miles  away,  in  a 
valley  between  some  outlying  hills  and  the  rugged 
range  of  mountains,  beyond  which  was  situated 
Sekukuni's  town.  Moreover,  in  proof  of  his  story  he 
showed  me  spoor  of  the  beasts  heading  in  that  direction 
which  was  quite  a  week  old. 

Now  for  my  part,  as  I  did  not  think  it  wise  to  get 
too  near  to  Sekukuni,  I  should  have  given  them  up  and 
gone  to  hunt  something  else.  Anscombe,  however,  was 
of  a  different  opinion  and  pleaded  hard  that  we  should 
follow  them.  They  were  the  only  herd  within  a  hun- 
dred miles,  he  said,  if  indeed  there  were  any  others  this 
side  of  the  Lebombo  Mountains.  As  I  still  demurred, 
he  suggested,  in  the  nicest  possible  manner,  that  if  I 
thought  the  business  risky,  I  should  camp  somewhere 
with  the  wagon,  while  he  went  on  with  Footsack  to  look 
for  the  buffalo.  I  answered  that  I  was  well  used  to 
risks,  which  in  a  sense  were  my  trade,  and  that  as  he 
was  more  or  less  in  my  charge  I  was  thinking  of  him, 
not  of  myself,  who  was  quite  prepared  to  follow  the 
buffalo,  not  only  to  Sekukuni's  Mountains  but  over 


38  FINISHED 

them.  Then  fearing  that  he  had  hurt  my  feeHngs,  he 
apologized,  and  offered  to  go  elsewhere  if  I  liked.  The 
upshot  was  that  we  decided  to  trek  to  the  Oliphant's 
River,  camp  there  and  explore  the  bush  on  the  other 
side  on  horseback,  never  going  so  far  from  the  wagon 
that  we  could  not  reach  it  again  before  nightfall. 

This,  then,  we  did,  outspanning  that  evening  by  the 
hot  but  beautiful  river  which  was  still  haunted  by  a  few 
hippopotamus  and  many  crocodiles,  one  of  which  we 
shot  before  turning  in.  Next  morning,  having  break- 
fasted off  cold  .guineafowl,  we  mounted,  crossed  the 
river  by  a  ford  that  w^as  quite  as  deep  as  I  liked,  to 
which  the  Kaffir  path  led  us,  and,  leaving  Footsack  with 
the  two  other  boys  in  charge  of  the  wagon,  began  to 
hunt  for  the  buffalo  in  the  rather  swampy  bush  that 
stretched  from  the  further  bank  to  the  slope  of  the  first 
hills,  eight  or  ten  miles  away.  I  did  not  much  expect 
to  find  them,  as  the  Basuto  had  said  that  they  had  gone 
over  these  hills,  but  either  he  lied  or  they  had  moved 
back  again. 

Not  half  a  mile  from  the  river  bank,  just  as  I  was 
about  to  dismount  to  stalk  a  fine  waterbuck  of  which  I 
caught  sight  standing  among  some  coarse  grass  and 
bushes,  my  eye  fell  upon  buffalo  spoor  that  from  its 
appearance  I  knew  could  not  be  more  than  a  few  hours 
old.  Evidently  the  beasts  had  been  feeding  here  dur- 
ing the  night  and  at  dawn  had  moved  away  to  sleep  in 
the  dry  bush  nearer  the  hills.  Beckoning  to  Anscombe, 
who  fortunately  had  not  seen  the  waterbuck,  at  which 
he  would  certainly  have  fired,  thereby  perhaps  fright- 
ening the  buft'alo,  I  showed  him  the  spoor  that  we  at 
once  started  to  follow. 

Soon  it  led  us  into  other  spoor,  that  of  a  whole  herd 
of  thirty  or  forty  beasts  indeed,  which  made  our  task 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED  39 

quite  easy,  at  least  till  we  came  to  harder  ground,  for 
the  animals  had  gone  a  long  way.  An  hour  or  more 
later,  when  we  were  about  seven  miles  from  the  river, 
I  perceived  ahead  of  us,  for  we  were  now  almost  at  the 
foot  of  the  hills,  a  cool  and  densely-wooded  kloof. 

"  That  is  where  they  will  be,"  I  said.  "  Now  come 
on  carefully  and  make  no  noise." 

We  rode  to  the  wide  mouth  of  the  kloof  where  the 
signs  of  the  buffalo  were  numerous  and  fresh,  dis- 
mounted and  tied  our  horses  to  a  thorn,  so  as  to 
approach  them  silently  on  foot.  We  had  not  gone  two 
hundred  yards  through  the  bush  when  suddenly  about 
fifty  paces  away,  standing  broadside  on  in  the  shadow 
between  two  trees,  I  saw  a  splendid  old  bull  with  a 
tremendous  pair  of  horns. 

"  Shoot,"  I  whispered  to  Anscombe,  "  you  will  never 
get  a  better  chance.    It  is  the  sentinel  of  the  herd." 

He  knelt  down,  his  face  quite  white  with  excitement, 
and  covered  the  bull  with  his  Express. 

"  Keep  cool,"  I  whispered  again,  "  and  aim  behind 
the  shoulder  half-way  down." 

I  don't  think  he  understood  me,  for  at  that  moment 
off  went  the  rifle.  He  hit  the  beast  somewhere,  as  I 
heard  the  bullet  clap,  but  not  fatally,  for  it  turned  and 
lumbered  off  up  the  kloof,  apparently  unhurt,  whereon 
he  sent  the  second  barrel  after  it,  a  clean  miss  this  time. 
Then  of  a  sudden  all  about  us  appeared  buffaloes  that 
had,  I  suppose,  been  sleeping  invisible  to  us.  These, 
with  snorts  and  bellows,  rushed  off  towards  the  river, 
for  having  their  senses  about  them,  they  had  no  mind 
to  be  trapped  in  the  kloof.  I  could  only  manage  a  shot 
at  one  of  them,  a  large  and  long-horned  cow  which  I 
knocked  over  quite  dead.  If  I  had  fired  again  it  would 
have  been  but  to  wound,  a  thing  I  hate.    The  whole 


40  FINISHED 

business  was  over  in  a  minute.  We  went  and  looked 
at  my  dead  cow  which  I  had  caught  through  the 
heart. 

"  It's  cruel  to  kill  these  things,"  I  said,  ''  for  I  don't 
know  what  use  we  are  going  to  make  of  them,  and  they 
must  love  life  as  much  as  we  do." 

"  We'll  cut  the  horns  off,"  said  Anscombe. 

"  You  may  if  you  like,"  I  answered,  ''  but  you  will 
find  it  a  tough  job  with  a  sheath  knife." 

*'  Yes,  I  think  that  shall  be  the  task  of  the  worthy 
Footsack  to-morrow,"  he  replied.  ''  Meanwhile  let  us 
go  and  finish  off  my  bull,  as  Footsack  &  Co.  may  as 
well  bring  home  two  pair  of  horns  as  one." 

I  looked  at  the  dense  bush,  and  knowing  something 
of  the  habits  of  wounded  buffaloes,  reflected  that  it 
would  be  a  nasty  job.  Still  I  said  nothing,  because  if 
I  hesitated,  I  knew  he  would  want  to  go  alone.  So  we 
started.  Evidently  the  beast  had  been  badly  hit,  for  the 
blood  spoor  was  easy  to  follow.  Yet  it  had  been  able 
to  retreat  up  to  the  end  of  the  kloof  that  terminated  in 
a  cliff  over  which  trickled  a  stream  of  water.  Here  it 
was  not  more  than  a  hundred  paces  wide,  and  on  either 
side  of  it  were  other  precipitous  cliffs.  As  we  went 
from  one  of  these  a  war-horn,  such  as  the  Basutos  use, 
was  blown.  Although  I  heard  it,  oddly  enough,  I  paid 
no  attention  to  it  at  the  time,  being  utterly  intent  upon 
the  business  in  hand. 

Following  a  wounded  buffalo  bull  up  a  tree-clad  and 
stony  kloof  is  no  game  for  children,  as  these  beasts 
have  a  habit  of  returning  on  their  tracks  and  then 
rushing  out  to  gore  you.  So  I  went  on  with  every 
sense  alert,  keeping  Anscombe  well  behind  me.  As  it 
happened  our  bull  had  either  been  knocked  silly  or  in- 
herited no  guile  from  his  parents.    When  he  found  he 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED  41 

could  go  no  further  he  stopped,  waited  behind  a  bush, 
and  when  he  saw  us  he  charged  in  a  simple  and  primi- 
tive fashion.  I  let  Anscombe  fire,  as  I  wished  him  to 
have  the  credit  of  killing  it  all  to  himself,  but  somehow 
or  other  he  managed  to  miss  with  both  barrels.  Then, 
trouble  being  imminent,  I  let  drive  as  the  beast  lowered 
its  head,  and  was  lucky  enough  to  break  its  spine  (to 
shoot  at  the  head  of  a  buffalo  is  useless),  so  that  it 
rolled  over  quite  dead  at  our  feet. 

**  You  have  got  a  magnificent  pair  of  horns,"  I  said, 
contemplating  the  fallen  giant. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Anscombe,  with  a  twinkle  of  his 
humorous  eyes,  "  and  if  it  hadn't  been  for  you  I  think 
that  I  should  have  got  them  in  more  senses  than  one." 

As  the  words  passed  his  lips  some  missile,  from  its 
peculiar  sound  I  judged  it  was  the  leg  off  an  iron  pot, 
hurtled  past  my  head,  fired  evidently  from  a  smooth- 
bore gun  with  a  large  charge  of  bad  powder.  Then  I 
remembered  the  war-horn  and  all  that  it  meant. 

"  Off  you  go,"  I  said,  "  we  are  ambushed  by  Kaffirs." 

We  were  indeed,  for  as  we  tailed  down  that  kloof, 
from  the  top  of  both  cliffs  above  us  came  a  continuous 
but  luckily  ill-directed  fire.  Lead-coated  stones,  pot 
legs  and  bullets  whirred  and  whistled  all  round  us,  yet 
until  the  last,  just  when  we  were  reaching  the  tree  to 
which  we  had  tied  our  horses,  quite  harmlessly.  Then 
suddenly  I  saw  Anscombe  begin  to  limp.  Still  he  man- 
aged to  run  on  and  mount,  though  I  observed  that  he 
did  not  put  his  right  foot  into  the  stirrup. 

"  Whaf  s  the  matter  ?  "  I  asked  as  we  galloped  off. 

"  Shot  through  the  instep,  I  think,"  he  answered 
with  a  laugh,  "  but  it  doesn't  hurt  a  bit." 

"  I  expect  it  will  later,"  I  replied.  "  Meanwhile, 
thank  God  it  wasn't  at  the  top  of  the  kloof.     They 


42  FINISHED 

won't  catch  us  on  the  horses,  which  they  never  thought 
of  kilHng  first." 

"  They  are  going  to  try  though.    Look  behind  you." 

I  looked  and  saw  twenty  or  thirty  men  emerging 
from  the  mouth  of  the  kloof  in  pursuit. 

*'  No  time  to  stop  to  get  those  horns,"  he  said  with 
a  sigh. 

"  No,"  I  answered,  "  unless  you  are  particularly 
anxious  to  say  good-bye  to  the  world  pinned  over  a 
broken  ant-heap  in  the  sun,  or  something  pleasant  of 
the  sort." 

Then  we  rode  on  in  silence,  I  thinking,  what  a  fool  I 
had  been  first  to  allow  myself  to  be  overruled  by 
Anscombe  and  cross  the  river,  and  secondly  not  to  have 
taken  warning  from  that  war-horn.  We  could  not  go 
very  fast  because  of  the  difficult  and  swampy  nature  of 
the  ground;  also  the  great  heat  of  the  day  told  on  the 
horses.  Thus  it  came  about  that  when  we  reached  the 
ford  we  were  not  more  than  ten  minutes  ahead  of  our 
active  pursuers,  good  runners  every  one  of  them,  and 
accustomed  to  the  country.  I  suppose  that  they  had 
orders  to  kill  or  capture  us  at  any  cost,  for  instead  of 
giving  up  the  chase,  as  I  hoped  they  would,  they  stuck 
to  us  in  a  surprising  fashion. 

We  splashed  through  the  river,  and  luckily  on  the 
further  bank  were  met  by  Footsack  who  had  seen  us 
coming  and  guessed  that  something  was  wrong. 

"  Inspan !  "  I  shouted  to  him,  ''  and  be  quick  about  it 
if  you  want  to  see  to-morrow's  light.  The  Basutos  are 
after  us." 

Off  he  went  like  a  shot,  his  face  quite  green  with 
fear. 

"  Now,"  I  said  to  Anscombe,  as  we  let  our  horses 
take  a  drink  for  which  they  were  mad,  "  we  have  got 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED  43 

to  hold  this  ford  until  the  wagon  is  ready,  or  those 
devils  will  get  us  after  all.  Dismount  and  I'll  tie  up 
the  horses." 

He  did  so  with  some  difficulty,  and  at  my  suggestion, 
while  I  made  the  beasts  fast,  cut  the  lace  of  his  boot 
which  was  full  of  blood,  and  soaked  his  wounded  foot, 
that  I  had  no  time  to  examine,  in  the  cool  water.  These 
things  done,  I  helped  him  to  the  rear  of  a  thorn  tree 
which  was  thick  enough  to  shield  most  of  his  body,  and 
took  my  own  stand  behind  a  similar  thorn  at  a  distance 
of  a  few  paces. 

Presently  the  Basutos  appeared,  trotting  along  close 
together  whereon  Anscombe,  who  was  seated  behind 
the  tree,  fired  both  barrels  of  his  Express  at  them  at 
a  range  of  about  two  hundred  yards.  It  was  a  foolish 
thing  to  do,  first  because  he  missed  them  clean,  for  he 
had  over-estimated  the  range  and  the  bullets  went 
above  their  heads,  and  secondly  because  it  caused  them 
to  scatter  and  made  them  careful,  whereas  had  they 
come  on  in  a  lump  we  could  have  taught  them  a  lesson. 
However,  I  said  nothing,  as  I  knew  that  reproaches 
would  only  make  him  nervous.  Down  went  those 
scoundrels  on  to  their  hands  and  knees  and,  taking 
cover  behind  stones  and  bushes  on  the  further  bank, 
began  to  fire  at  us,  for  they  were  all  armed  with  guns 
of  one  sort  and  another,  and  there  was  only  about  a 
hundred  yards  of  water  between  us.  As  they  effected 
this  manoeuvre  I  am  glad  to  say  I  was  able  to  get  two  of 
them,  while  Anscombe,  I  think,  wounded  another. 

After  this  our  position  grew  quite  warm,  for  as  I 
have  said  the  thorn  trunks  were  not  very  broad,  and 
three  or  four  of  the  natives,  who  had  probably  been 
hunters,  were  by  no  means  bad  shots,  though  the  rest 
of  them  fired  wildly.     Anscombe,  in  poking  his  head 


44  FINISHED 

round  the  tree  to  shoot,  had  his  hat  knocked  off  by  a 
bullet,  while  a  slug  went  through  the  lappet  of  my  coat. 
Then  a  worse  thing  happened.  Either  by  chance  or 
design  Anscombe's  horse  was  struck  in  the  neck  and 
fell  struggling,  whereon  my  beast,  growing  frightened, 
broke  its  riem  and  galloped  to  the  wagon.  That  is 
where  I  ought  to  have  left  them  at  first,  only  I  thought 
that  we  might  need  them  to  make  a  bolt  on,  or  to  carry 
Anscombe  if  he  could  not  walk. 

Quite  a  long  while  went  by  before,  glancing  behind 
me,  I  saw  that  the  oxen  that  had  been  grazing  at  a 
little  distance  had  at  length  arrived  and  were  being  in- 
spanned  in  furious  haste.  The  Basutos  saw  it  also,  and 
fearing  lest  we  should  escape,  determined  to  try  to  end 
the  business.  Suddenly  they  leapt  from  their  cover, 
and  with  more  courage  than  I  should  have  expected  of 
them,  rushed  into  the  river,  proposing  to  storm  us, 
which,  to  speak  truth,  I  think  they  would  have  done 
had  I  not  been  a  fairly  quick  shot. 

As  it  was,  finding  that  they  were  losing  too  heavily 
from  our  fire,  they  retreated  in  a  hurry,  leaving  their 
dead  behind  them,  and  even  a  wounded  man  who  was 
clinging  to  a  rock.  He,  poor  wretch,  was  in  mortal 
terror  lest  we  should  shoot  him  again,  which  I  had 
not  the  heart  to  do,  although  as  his  leg  was  shattered 
above  the  knee  by  an  Express  bullet,  it  might  have  been 
true  kindness.  Again  and  again  he  called  out  for 
mercy,  saying  that  he  only  attacked  us  because  his  chief, 
who  had  been  warned  of  our  coming  ''  by  the  White 
Man,"  ordered  him  to  take  our  guns  and  cattle. 

''What  white  man?"  I  shouted.  "Speak  or  I 
shoot." 

There  was  no  answer,  for  at  this  moment  he  fainted 
from  loss  of  blood  and  vanished  beneath  the  water. 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED  45 

Then  another  Basuto,  I  suppose  he  was  their  captain, 
but  do  not  know,  for  he  was  hidden  in  some  bushes, 
called  out — 

"  Do  not  think  that  you  shall  escape.  White  Men. 
There  are  many  more  of  our  people  coming,  and  we 
will  kill  you  in  the  night  when  you  cannot  see  to 
shoot  us." 

At  this  moment,  too,  Footsack  shouted  that  the 
wagon  was  inspanned  and  ready.  Now  I  hesitated 
what  to  do.  If  we  made  for  the  wagon,  which  must 
be  very  slowly  because  of  Anscombe's  wounded  foot, 
we  had  to  cross  seventy  or  eighty  yards  of  rising 
ground  almost  devoid  of  cover.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  stayed  where  we  were  till  nightfall  a  shot  mjght 
catch  one  of  us,  or  other  Basutos  might  arrive  and  rush 
us.  There  was  also  a  third  possibility,  that  our  terrified 
servants  might  trek  off  and  leave  us  in  order  to  save 
their  own  lives,  which  verily  I  believe  they  would  have 
done,  not  being  of  Zulu  blood.  I  put  the  problem  to 
Anscombe,  who  shook  his  head  and  looked  at  his  foot. 
Then  he  produced  a  lucky  penny  which  he  carried  in 
his  pocket  and  said — 

"  Let  us  invoke  the  Fates.  Heads  we  run  like  heroes ; 
tails  we  stay  here  like  heroes,"  and  he  spun  the  penny, 
while  I  stared  at  him  open-mouthed  and  not  without 
admiration. 

Never,  I  thought  to  myself,  had  this  primitive 
method  of  cutting  a  gordian  knot  been  resorted  to  in 
such  strange  and  urgent  circumstances. 

"  Heads  it  is !  "  he  said  coolly.  "  Now,  my  boy,  do 
you  run  and  I'll  crawl  after  you.  If  I  don't  arrive,  you 
know  my  people's  address,  and  I  bequeath  to  you  all  my 
African  belongings  in  memory  of  a  most  pleasant  trip." 

"  Don't  play  the  fool,"  I  replied  sternly.     "  Come, 


46  FINISHED 

put  your  right  arm  round  my  neck  and  hop  on  your  left 
leg  as  you  never  hopped  before." 

Then  we  started,  and  really  our  transit  was  quite 
lively,  for  all  those  Basutos  began  what  for  them  was 
rapid  firing.  I  think,  however,  that  their  best  shots 
must  have  fallen,  for  not  a  bullet  touched  us,  although 
before  we  got  out  of  their  range  one  or  two  went  very 
near. 

''There,"  said  Anscombe,  as  a  last  amazing  hop 
brought  him  to  the  wagon  rail,  "  there,  you  see  how 
wise  it  is  to  give  Providence  a  chance  sometimes." 

''  In  the  shape  of  a  lucky  penny,"  I  grumbled  as  I 
hoisted  him  up. 

"  Certainly,  for  why  should  not  Providence  inhabit 
a  penny  as  much  as  it  does  any  other  mundane  thing? 
Oh !  my  dear  Quatermain,  have  you  never  been  taught 
to  look  to  the  pence  and  let  the  rest  take  care  of  itself  ?  " 

"  Stop  talking  rubbish  and  look  to  your  foot,  for  the 
wagon  is  starting,"  I  replied. 

Then  off  we  went  at  a  good  round  trot,  for  never 
have  I  seen  oxen  more  scientifically  driven  than  they 
were  by  Footsack  and  his  friends  on  this  occasion,  or  a 
greater  pace  got  out  of  them.  As  soon  as  we  reached 
a  fairly  level  piece  of  ground  I  made  Anscombe  lie 
down  on  the  cartel  of  the  wagon  and  examined  his 
wound  as  well  as  circumstances  would  allow.  I  found 
that  the  bullet  or  whatever  the  missile  may  have  been, 
had  gone  through  his  right  instep  just  beneath  the  big 
sinew,  but  so  far  as  I  could  judge  without  injuring  any 
bone.  There  was  nothing  to  be  done  except  rub  in 
some  carbolic  ointment,  which  fortunately  he  had  in 
his  medicine  chest,  and  bind  up  the  ugly  wound  as  best 
I  could  with  a  clean  handkerchief,  after  which  I  tied 
a  towel,  that  was  not  clean,  over  the  whole  foot. 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED  47 

By  this  time  evening  was  coming  on,  so  we  ate  of 
such  food  as  we  had  with  us,  which  we  needed  badly- 
enough,  without  stopping  the  wagon.  I  remember  that 
it  consisted  of  cheese  and  hard  biscuits.  At  dark  we 
were  obHged  to  halt  a  little  by  a  stream  until  the  moon 
rose,  which  fortunately  she  did  very  soon,  as  she  was 
only  just  past  her  full.  As  soon  as  she  was  up  we 
started  again,  and  with  a  breathing  space  or  two, 
trekked  all  that  night,  which  I  spent  seated  on  the  after 
part  of  the  wagon  and  keeping  a  sharp  look  out,  while, 
notwithstanding  the  roughness  of  the  road  and  his 
hurt,  Anscombe  slept  like  a  child  upon  the  cartel 
inside. 

I  was  very  tired,  so  tired  that  the  fear  of  surprise 
was  the  only  thing  that  kept  me  awake,  and  I  recall 
reflecting  in  a  stupid  kind  of  way,  that  it  seemed  always 
to  have  been  my  lot  in  life  to  watch  thus,  in  one  sense 
or  another,  while  others  slept. 

The  night  passed  somehow  without  anything  hap- 
pening, and  at  dawn  we  halted  for  a  while  to  water 
the  oxen,  which  we  did  with  buckets,  and  let  them  eat 
what  grass  they  could  reach  from  their  yokes,  since  we 
did  not  dare  to  outspan  them.  Just  as  we  were  starting 
on  again  the  voortrekker,  whom  I  had  set  to  watch  at 
a  little  distance,  ran  up  with  his  eyes  bulging  out  of  his 
head,  and  reported  that  he  had  seen  a  Basuto  with  an 
assegai  hanging  about  in  the  bush,  as  though  to  keep 
touch  with  us,  after  which  we  delayed  no  more. 

All  that  day  we  blundered  on,  thrashing  the  weary 
cattle  that  at  every  halt  tried  to  lie  down,  and  by  night- 
fall came  to  the  outspan  near  to  the  house  called  the 
Temple,  where  we  had  met  the  Kaffirs  returning  from 
the  diamond  fields.  This  journey  we  had  accomplished 
in  exactly  half  the  time  it  had  taken  on  the  outward 


48  FINISHED 

trip.  Here  we  were  obliged  to  stop,  as  our  team  must 
have  rest  and  food.  So  we  outspanned  and  slept  that 
night  without  much  fear,  since  I  thought  it  most  im- 
probable that  the  Basutos  would  attempt  to  follow  us 
so  far,  as  we  were  now  within  a  short  day's  trek  of 
Pilgrim's  Rest,  whither  we  proposed  to  proceed  on  the 
morrow.    But  that  is  just  where  I  made  a  mistake. 


CHAPTER  IV 

DOCTOR   RODD 

I  DID  get  a  little  sleep  that  night,  with  one  eye  open, 
but  before  dawn  I  was  up  again  seeing  to  the  feeding 
of  our  remaining  horse  with  some  mealies  that  we  car- 
ried, and  other  matters.  The  oxen  we  had  been  obliged 
to  unyoke  that  they  might  fill  themselves  with  grass  and 
water,  since  otherwise  I  feared  that  we  should  never 
get  them  on  to  their  feet  again.  As  it  was,  the  poor 
brutes  were  so  tired  that  some  of  them  could  scarcely 
eat,  and  all  lay  down  at  the  first  opportunity. 

Having  awakened  Footsack  and  the  other  boys  that 
they  might  be  ready  to  take  advantage  of  the  light  when 
it  came,  for  I  was  anxious  to  be  away,  I  drank  a  nip 
of  Hollands  and  water  and  ate  a  biscuit,  making  Ans- 
combe  do  the  same.  Coffee  would  have  been  more 
acceptable,  but  I  thought  it  wiser  not  to  light  a  fire  for 
fear  of  showing  our  whereabouts. 

Now  a  faint  glimmer  in  the  east  told  me  that  the 
dawn  was  coming.  Just  by  the  wagon  grew  a  fair- 
sized,  green-leaved  tree,  and  as  it  was  quite  easy  to 
climb  even  by  starlight,  up  it  I  went  so  as  to  get  above 
the  ground  mist  and  take  a  look  round  before  we 
trekked.  Presently  the  sky  grew  pearly  and  light  began 
to  gather ;  then  the  edge  of  the  sun  appeared,  throwing 
long  level  rays  across  the  world.  Everywhere  the  mist 
lay  dense  as  cotton  wool,  except  at  one  spot  about  a 
mile  behind  us  where  there  was  a  little  hill  or  rather 
a  wave  of  the  ground,  over  which  we  had  trekked  upon 

49 


50  FINISHED 

the  preceding  evening.  The  top  of  this  rise  was  above 
the  mist  level,  and  on  it  no  trees  grew  because  the 
granite  came  to  the  surface.  Having  discovered  noth- 
ing, I  called  to  the  boys  to  drive  up  the  oxen,  some  of 
which  had  risen  and  were  eating  again,  and  prepared 
to  descend  from  my  tree. 

As  I  did  so,  out  of  the  corner  of  my  eye  I  caught 
sight  of  something  that  glittered  far  away,  so  far  that 
it  would  only  have  attracted  the  notice  of  a  trained 
hunter.  ,  Yes,  something  was  shining  on  the  brow  of 
the  rise  of  which  I  have  spoken.  I  stared  at  it  through 
my  glasses  and  saw  what  I  had  feared  to  see.  A  body 
of  natives  was  crossing  the  rise  and  the  glitter  was 
caused  by  the  rays  of  dawn  striking  on  their  spears  and 
gun-barrels. 

I  came  down  out  of  that  tree  like  a  frightened  wild 
cat  and  ran  to  the  wagon,  thinking  hard  as  I  went.  The 
Basutos  were  after  us,  meaning  to  attack  as  soon  as 
there  was  sufficient  light.  In  ten  minutes  or  less  they 
would  be  here.  There  was  no  time  to  inspan  the  oxen, 
and  even  if  there  had  been,  stiff  and  weary  as  the  beasts 
were,  we  should  be  overtaken  before  we  had  gone  a 
hundred  yards  on  that  bad  road.  What  then  was  to 
be  done?  Run  for  it?  It  was  impossible,  Anscombe 
could  not  run.  My  eye  fell  upon  the  horse  munching 
the  last  of  his  mealies. 

"  Footsack,"  I  said  as  quietly  as  I  could,  "  never 
mind  about  inspanning  yet,  but  saddle  up  the  horse.  Be 
quick  now." 

He  looked  at  me  doubtfully,  but  obeyed,  having  seen 
nothing.  If  he  had  seen  I  knew  that  he  would  have 
been  off.  I  nipped  round  to  the  end  of  the  wagon, 
calling  to  the  other  two  boys  to  let  the  oxen  be  a  while 
and  come  to  me. 


DOCTOR  RODD  51 

"  Now,  Anscombe,"  I  said,  *'  hand  out  the  rifles  and 
cartridges.  Don't  stop  to  ask  questions,  but  do  what  I 
tell  you.  They  are  on  the  rack  by  your  side.  So.  Now 
put  on  your  revolver  aud  let  me  help  you  down.  Man, 
don't  forget  your  hat." 

He  obeyed  quickly  enough  and  presently  was  stand- 
ing on  one  leg  by  my  side,  looking  cramped  and  tottery. 

''  The  Basutos  are  on  us,"  I  said. 

He  whistled  and  remarked  something  about  Chapter 
No.  2. 

"  Footsack,"  I  called,  "  bring  the  horse  here ;  the 
Baas  wishes  to  ride  a  little  to  ease  his  leg." 

He  did  so,  stopping  a  moment  to  pull  the  second 
girth  tight.  Then  we  helped  Anscombe  into  the 
saddle. 

"Which  way?"  he  asked. 

I  looked  at  the  long  slope  in  front  of  us.  It  was 
steep  and  bad  going.  Anscombe  might  get  up  it  on 
the  horse  before  the  Kaffirs  overtook  us,  but  it  was 
extremely  problematical  if  we  could  do  so.  I  might 
perhaps  if  I  mounted  behind  him  and  the  horse  could 
bear  us  both,  which  was  doubtful,  but  how  about  our 
poor  servants?  He  saw  the  doubt  upon  my  face  and 
said  in  his  quiet  way, 

"  You  may  remember  that  our  white-bearded  friend 
told  us  to  make  straight  for  his  place  in  case  of  any 
difficulty  with  the  Basutos.     It  seems  to  have  arisen." 

"  I  know  he  did,"  I  answered,  "  but  I  cannot  make 
up  my  mind  which  is  the  more  dangerous,  Marnham 
or  the  Basutos.  I  rather  think  that  he  set  them  on 
to  us." 

"  It  is  impossible  to  solve  problems  at  this  hour  of 
the  morning,  Quatermain,  and  there  is  no  time  to  toss. 
So  I  vote  for  the  Temple." 


52  FINISHED 

"  It  seems  our  best  chance.  At  any  rate  that's  your 
choice,  so  let's  go." 

Then  I  sang  out  to  the  Kaffirs,  "  The  Basutos  are 
on  us.    We  go  to  Tampel  for  refuge.    Run !  " 

My  word !  they  did  run.  I  never  saw  athletes  make 
better  time  over  the  first  quarter  of  a  mile.  We  ran, 
too,  or  at  least  the  horse  did,  I  hanging  on  to  the  stir- 
rup and  Anscombe  holding  both  the  rifles  beneath  his 
arm.  But  the  beast  was  tired,  also  blown  out  with  that 
morning  feed  of  mealies,  so  our  progress  was  not  very 
fast.  When  we  were  about  two  hundred  yards  from 
the  wagon  I  looked  back  and  saw  the  Basutos  begin- 
ning to  arrive.  They  saw  us  also,  and  uttering  a  sort 
of  whistling  war  cry,  started  in  pursuit. 

After  this  we  had  quite  an  interesting  time.  I 
scrambled  on  to  the  horse  behind  Anscombe,  whereon 
that  intelligent  animal,  feeling  the  double  weight,  re- 
duced its  pace  proportionately,  to  a  slow  tripple  indeed, 
out  of  which  it  could  not  be  persuaded  to  move.  So  I 
slipped  off  again  over  its  tail  and  we  went  on  as  before. 
Meanwhile  the  Basutos,  very  active  fellows,  were  com- 
ing up.  By  this  time  the  yellow-wood  grove  in  the 
swamp,  of  which  I  have  already  written,  was  close  to 
us,  and  it  became  quite  a  question  which  of  us  would 
get  there  first  (I  may  mention  that  Footsack  &  Co.  had 
already  attained  its  friendly  shelter).  Anscombe  kicked 
the  horse  with  his  sound  heel  and  I  thumped  it  with  my 
fist,  thereby  persuading  it  to  a  hand  gallop. 

As  we  reached  the  outlying  trees  of  the  wood  the  first 
Basuto,  a  lank  fellow  with  a  mouth  like  a  rat  trap, 
arrived  and  threw  an  assegai  at  us  which  passed  be- 
tween Anscombe's  back  and  my  nose.  Then  he  closed 
and  tried  to  stab  with  another  assegai.  I  could  do 
nothing,  but  Anscombe  showed  himself  cleverer  than 


DOCTOR  RODD  53 

I  expected.  Dropping  the  reins,  he  drew  his  pistol  and 
managed  to  send  a  bullet  through  that  child  of  nature's 
head,  so  that  he  went  down  like  a  stone. 

"  And  you  tell  me  I  am  a  bad  shot,"  he  drawled. 

"  It  was  a  fluke,"  I  gasped,  for  even  in  these  circum- 
stances truth  would  prevail. 

"  Wait  and  you  will  see,"  he  replied,  re-cocking  the 
revolver. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  there  was  no  need  for  m.ore 
shooting,  since  at  the  verge  of  the  swamp  the  Basutos 
pulled  up.  I  do  not  think  that  the  death  of  their  com- 
panion caused  them  to  do  this,  for  they  seemed  to  take 
no  notice  of  him.  It  was  as  though  they  had  reached 
some  boundary  which  they  knew  it  would  not  be  law- 
ful for  them  to  pass.  They  simply  stopped,  took  the 
dead  man's  assegai  and  shield  from  the  body  and 
walked  quietly  back  towards  the  wagon,  leaving  him 
where  he  lay.  The  horse  stopped  also,  or  rather  pro- 
ceeded at  a  walk. 

"  There !  "  exclaimed  Anscombe.  *'  Did  I  not  tell 
you  I  had  a  presentiment  that  I  should  kill  a  man  in 
this  accursed  wood?" 

"  Yes,"  I  said  as  soon  as  I  had  recovered  my  breath, 
"  but  you  mixed  up  a  woman  with  the  matter,  and  I 
don't  see  one." 

"  That's  true,"  he  replied,  "  I  hope  we  shan't  meet 
her  later." 

Then  we  went  on  as  quickly  as  we  could,  which  was 
not  very  fast,  for  I  feared  lest  the  Basutos  should 
change  their  minds  and  follow  us.  As  the  risk  of  this 
became  less  our  spirits  rose,  since  if  we  had  lost  the 
wagon  and  the  oxen,  at  least  we  had  saved  our  lives, 
which  was  almost  more  than  we  could  have  expected 
in  the  circumstances.     At  last  we  came  to  that  glade 


54  FINISHED 

where  we  had  killed  the  wildebeeste  not  a  week  before. 
There  lay  its  skeleton  picked  clean  by  the  great  brown 
kites  that  frequent  the  bush-veld,  some  of  which  still 
sat  about  in  the  trees. 

"  Well,  I  suppose  we  must  go  on  to  Tampel,"  said 
Anscombe  rather  faintly,  for  I  could  see  that  his  wound 
was  giving  him  a  good  deal  of  pain. 

As  he  spoke  from  round  the  tree  whence  he  had 
first  emerged,  appeared  Mr.  Marnham,  riding  the  same 
horse  and  wearing  the  same  clothes.  The  only  differ- 
ence between  his  two  entries  was  that  the  first  took 
place  in  the  late  evening  and  the  second  in  the  early 
morning. 

*'  So  here  you  are  again,"  he  said  cheerfully. 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  *'  and  it  is  strange  to  meet  you 
at  the  same  spot.    Were  you  expecting  us  ?  " 

"  Not  more  than  I  expect  many  things,"  he  replied 
with  a  shrewd  glance  at  me,  adding,  ''  I  always  rise 
with  the  sun,  and  thinking  that  I  heard  a  shot  fired  in 
the  distance,  came  to  see  what  was  happening.  The 
Basutos  attacked  you  at  daybreak,  did  they  not  ?  " 

"  They  did,  but  how  did  you  know  that,  Mr.  Marn- 
ham ?"- 

**  Your  servants  told  me.  I  met  them  running  to  the 
house  looking  very  frightened.  You  are  wounded,  Mr. 
Anscombe  ?  " 

''  Yes,  a  couple  of  days  ago  on  the  border  of  Seku- 
kuni's  country  where  the  natives  tried  to  murder  us." 

"  Ah,"  he  replied  without  surprise.  "  I  warned  you 
the  trip  was  dangerous,  did  I  not?  Well,  come  on 
home,  where  my  partner,  Rodd,  who  luckily  has  had 
medical  experience,  will  attend  to  you.  Mr.  Quater- 
main  can  tell  me  the  story  as  we  go." 

So  we  went  on  up  the  long  slope,  I  relating  our  ad- 


DOCTOR  RODD  55 

ventures,  to  Avhich  Mr.  Marnham  listened  without 
comment. 

"  I  expect  that  the  Kaffirs  will  have  looted  the  wagon 
and  be  on  the  way  home  with  your  oxen  by  now,"  he 
said  when  I  had  finished. 

''  Are  you  not  afraid  that  they  will  follow  us  here?  " 
I  asked. 

*'  Oh  no,  Mr.  Quatermain.  We  do  business  with 
these  people,  also  they  sometimes  come  to  be  doctored 
by  Rodd  when  they  are  sick,  so  this  place  is  sacred 
ground  to  them.  Probably  they  stopped  hunting  you 
when  they  got  to  the  Yellow-wood  swamp  where  our 
land  begins,  did  they  not?  " 

"  Yes,  but  now  I  want  to  hunt  them.  Can  you  give 
me  any  help  ?  Those  oxen  are  tired  out  and  footsore, 
so  we  might  be  able  to  catch  them  up." 

He  shook  his  head.  "  We  have  very  few  people  here, 
and  by  the  time  that  you  could  get  assistance  from  the 
Camp  at  Barberton,  if  the  Commandant  is  able  and 
willing  to  give  you  any,  which  I  rather  doubt,  they  will 
be  far  away.  Moreover,"  he  added,  dropping  his  voice, 
"  let  us  come  to  an  understanding.  You  are  most  wel- 
come to  any  help  or  hospitality  that  I  can  offer,  but  if 
you  wish  to  do  more  fighting  I  must  ask  you  to  go  else- 
where. As  I  have  told  you,  we  are  peaceful  men  who 
trade  with  these  people,  and  do  not  wish  to  be  involved 
in  a  quarrel  with  them,  which  might  expose  us  to  attack 
or  bring  us  into  trouble  with  the  British  Government 
which  has  annexed  but  not  conquered  their  country. 
Do  I  make  myself  clear  ?  " 

"  Perfectly.  While  we  are  with  you  we  will  do  noth- 
ing, but  afterwards  we  hold  ourselves  at  liberty  to  act 
as  we  think  best." 

"  Quite  so.     Meanwhile  I  hope  that  you  and  Mr. 


S6  FINISHED 

Anscombe  will  make  yourselves  comfortable  with  us 
for  as  long  as  you  like." 

In  my  own  mind  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this 
would  be  for  the  shortest  time  possible,  but  I  only 
said — 

"  It  is  most  kind  of  you  to  take  in  complete  strangers 
thus.  No,  not  complete,"  I  added,  looking  towards 
Anscombe  who  was  following  on  the  tired  horse  a  few 
paces  behind,  "  for  you  knew  his  father,  did  you  not?  " 

"  His  father?  "  he  said,  lifting  his  eyebrows.  "  No. 
Oh!  I  remember,  I  said  something  to  that  effect  the 
other  night,  but  it  was  a  mistake.  I  mixed  up  two 
names,  as  one  often  does  after  a  lapse  of  many  years." ' 

''  I  understand,"  I  answered,  but  remembering  Ans- 
combe's  story  I  reflected  to  myself  that  our  venerable 
host  was  an  excellent  liar.  Or  more  probably  he  meant 
to  convey  that  he  wished  the  subject  of  his  youthful 
reminiscences  to  be  taboo. 

Just  then  we  reached  the  house  which  had  a  pretty 
patch  of  well-kept  flower-garden  in  front  of  it,  sur- 
rounded by  a  fence  covered  with  wire  netting  to  keep 
out  buck.  By  the  gate  squatted  our  three  retainers, 
looking  very  blown  and  rather  ashamed  of  themselves. 

"  Your  master  wishes  to  thank  you  for  your  help  in 
a  dark  hour,  Footsack,  and  I  wish  to  congratulate  you 
all  upon  the  swiftness  of  your  feet,"  I  said  in  Dutch. 

**  Oh !  Baas,  the  Basutos  were  many  and  their  spears 
are  sharp,"  he  began  apologetically. 

"  Be  silent,  you  running  dog,"  I  said,  "  and  go  help 
your  master  to  dismount." 

Then  we  went  through  the  gate,  Anscombe  leaning 
on  my  shoulder  and  on  that  of  Mr.  Marnham,  and  up 
the  path  which  was  bordered  with  fences  of  the  monthly 
rose,  towards  the  house.     Really  this  was  almost  as 


DOCTOR  RODD  57 

charming  to  look  at  near  at  hand  as  it  had  been  from 
far  away.  Of  course  the  whole  thing  was  crude  in 
detail.  Rough,  half-shaped  blocks  of  marble  from  the 
neighbouring  quarry  had  been  built  into  walls  and  col- 
umns. Nothing  was  finished,  and  considered  bit  by  bit 
all  was  coarse  and  ugly.  Yet  the  general  effect  was 
beautiful  because  it  was  an  effect  of  design,  the  picture 
of  an  artist  who  did  not  fully  understand  the  techni- 
calities of  painting,  the  work  of  a  great  writer  who  had 
as  yet  no  proper  skill  in  words.  Never  did  I  see  a  small 
building  that  struck  me  more.  But  then  what  experi- 
ence have  I  of  buildings,  and,  as  Anscombe  reminded 
me  afterwards,  it  was  but  a  copy  of  something  designed 
when  the  world  was  young,  or  rather  when  civilization 
was  young,  and  man  new  risen  from  the  infinite  ages 
of  savagery,  saw  beauty  in  his  dreams  and  tried  to 
symbolize  it  in  shapes  of  stone. 

We  came  to  the  broad  stoep,  to  which  several  rough 
blocks  of  marble  served  as  steps.  On  it  in  a  long  chair 
made  of  native  wood  and  seated  with  hide  rimpis,  sat 
or  rather  lolled  a  man  in  a  dressing-gown  who  was 
reading  a  book.  He  raised  himself  as  we  came  and  the 
light  of  the  sun,  for  the  verandah  faced  to  the  east, 
shone  full  upon  his  face,  so  that  I  saw  him  well.  It 
was  that  of  a  man  of  something  under  forty  years  of 
age,  dark,  powerful,  and  weary — not  a  good  face,  I 
thought.  Indeed,  it  gave  me  the  impression  of  one  who 
had  allowed  the  evil  which  exists  in  the  nature  of  all  of 
us,  to  become  his  master,  or  had  even  encouraged  it  to 
do  so. 

In  the  Psalms  and  elsewhere  we  are  always  reading 
of  the  righteous  and  the  unrighteous  until  those  terms 
grow  wearisome.  It  is  only  of  late  years  that  I  have 
discovered,  or  think  that  I  have  discovered,  what  they 


58  FINISHED 

mean.  Our  lives  cannot  be  judged  by  our  deeds;  they 
must  be  judged  by  our  desires  or  rather  by  our  moral 
attitude.  It  is  not  what  we  do  so  much  as  what  we  try 
to  do  that  counts  in  the  formation  of  character.  All 
fall  short,  all  fail,  but  in  the  end  those  who  seek  to 
climb  out  of  the  pit,  those  who  strive,  however  vainly, 
to  fashion  failure  in  success,  are,  by  comparison,  the 
righteous,  while  those  who  are  content  to  wallow  in  our 
native  mire  and  to  glut  themselves  with  the  daily  bread 
of  vice,  are  the  unrighteous.  To  turn  our  backs 
thereon,  wilfully  and  without  cease,  is  the  real  unfor- 
givable sin  against  the  Spirit.  At  least  that  is  the  best 
definition  of  the  problem  at  which  I  in  my  simplicity 
can  arrive. 

Such  thoughts  have  often  occurred  to  me  in  consid- 
ering the  character  of  Dr.  Rodd  and  some  others  whom 
I  have  known;  indeed  the  germ  of  them  arose  In  my 
mind  which,  being  wearied  at  the  time  and  therefore 
somewhat  vacant,  was  perhaps  the  more  open  to  exter- 
nal impressions,  as  I  looked  upon  the  face  of  this 
stranger  on  the  stoep.  Moreover,  as  I  am  proud  to 
record,  I  did  not  judge  him  altogether  wrongly.  He 
w^as  a  blackguard  who,  under  other  influences  or  with 
a  few  added  grains  of  self-restraint  and  of  the  power 
of  recovery,  might  have  become  a  good  or  even  a 
saintly  man.  But  by  some  malice  of  Fate  or  some  evil 
inheritance  from  an  unknown  past,  those  grains  were 
lacking,  and  therefore  he  went  not  up  but  down  the 
hill. 

"  Case  for  you,  Rodd,"  called  out  Marnham. 

"  Indeed,"  he  answered,  getting  to  his  feet  and  speak- 
ing in  a  full  voice,  which,  like  his  partner's,  was  that 
of  an  educated  Englishman.  "What's  the  matter? 
Horse  accident?  " 


DOCTOR  RODD  59 

Then  we  were  introduced,  and  Anscombe  began  to 
explain  his  injury. 

"  Um !  "  said  the  doctor,  studying  him  with  his  dark 
eyes.  "  Kaffir  bullet  through  the  foot  some  days  ago. 
Ought  to  be  attended  to  at  once.  Also  you  look  pretty 
done,  so  don't  tire  yourself  with  the  story,  which  I  can 
get  from  Mr.  Quatermain.  Come  and  lie  down  and  I'll 
have  a  look  at  you  while  they  are  cooking  breakfast." 

Then  he  guided  us  to  a  room  of  which  the  double 
French  windows  opened  on  to  the  stoep,  a  very  pretty 
room  with  two  beds  in  it.  Making  Anscombe  lie  down 
on  one  of  these  he  turned  up  his  trouser,  undid  my 
rough  bandage  and  examined  the  wound. 

"Painful?"  he  asked. 

"  Very,"  answered  Anscombe,  "  right  up  to  the 
thigh." 

After  this  he  drew  off  the  nether  garments  and  made 
a  further  examination. 

"  Um,"  he  said  again,  "  I  must  syringe  this  out.  Stay 
still  while  I  get  some  stuff." 

I  followed  him  from  the  room,  and  when  we  were 
out  of  hearing  on  the  stoep  inquired  what  he  thought. 
I  did  not  like  the  look  of  that  leg. 

*'  It  is  very  bad,"  he  answered,  "  so  bad  that  T  am 
wondering  if  it  wouldn't  be  best  to  remove  the  limb 
below  the  knee  and  make  a  job.  You  can  see  for  your- 
self that  it  is  septic  and  the  inflammation  is  spreading 
up  rapidly." 

*'  Good  Heavens !  "  I  exclaimed,  "  do  you  fear  morti- 
fication? " 

He  nodded.  "  Can't  say  what  was  on  that  slug  or  bit 
of  old  iron,  and  he  hasn't  had  the  best  chance  since. 
Mortification  or  tetanus,  or  both,  are  more  than  pos- 
sible.   Is  he  a  temperate  man  ?  " 


6o  FINISHED 

"  Very,  so  far  as  I  know,"  I  answered,  and  stared 
at  him  while  he  thought.    Then  he  said  with  decision, 

"  That  makes  a  difference.  To  lose  a  foot  is  a 
serious  thing ;  some  might  think  almost  as  bad  as  death. 
I'll  give  him  a  chance,  but  if  those  symptoms  do  not 
abate  in  twenty  hours,  I  must  operate.  You  needn't 
be  afraid,  I  was  house  surgeon  at  a  London  Hospital 
— once,  and  I  keep  my  hand  in.  Lucky  you  came 
straight  here." 

Having  made  his  preparations  and  washed  his  hands, 
he  returned,  syringed  the  wound  with  some  antiseptic 
stuff,  and  dressed  and  bandaged  the  leg  up  to  the  knee. 
After  this  he  gave  Anscombe  hot  milk  to  drink,  with 
two  eggs  broken  into  it,  and  told  him  to  rest  a  while  as 
he  must  not  eat  anything  solid  at  present.  Then  he 
threw  a  blanket  over  him  and,  signing  to  me  to  come 
away,  let  down  a  mat  over  the  window. 

"  I  put  a  little  something  into  that  milk,"  he  said 
outside,  "  which  will  send  him  to  sleep  for  a  few  hours. 
So  we  will  leave  him  quiet.    Now  you'll  want  a  wash." 

"Where  are  you  going  to  take  Mr.  Quatermain?" 
asked  Marnham,  who  was  seated  on  the  stoep. 

"  Into  my  room,"  he  answered. 

"Why?    There's  Heda's  ready." 

"  Heda  might  return  at  any  moment,"  replied  the 
doctor.  "  Also  Mr.  Quatermain  had  better  sleep  in  Mr. 
Anscombe's  room.  He  will  very  likely  want  some  one 
to  look  after  him  at  night." 

Marnham  opened  his  mouth  to  speak  again,  then 
changed  his  mind  and  was  silent,  as  a  servant  is  silent 
under  rebuke.  The  incident  was  quite  trifling,  yet  it 
revealed  to  me  the  relative  attitude  of  these  two  men. 
Without  a  doubt  Rodd  was  the  master  of  his  partner, 
who  did  not  even  care  to  dispute  with  him  about  the 


DOCTOR  RODD  6i 

matter  of  the  use  of  his  daughter's  bedroom.  They 
were  a  queer  couple  who,  had  it  not  been  for  my  anxiety 
as  to  Anscombe's  illness,  would  have  interested  me  very 
much,  as  indeed  they  were  destined  to  do. 

Well,  I  went  to  tidy  up  in  the  doctor's  room,  and  as 
he  left  me  alone  while  I  washed,  had  the  opportunity 
of  studying  it  a  little.  Like  the  rest  of  the  house  it  was 
lined  with  native  wood  which  was  made  to  serve  as  the 
backs  of  bookshelves  and  of  cupboards  filled  with  medi^ 
cines  and  instruments.  The  books  formed  a  queer 
collection.  There  were  medical  works,  philosophical 
works,  histories,  novels,  most  of  them  French,  and 
other  volumes  of  a  sort  that  I  imagine  are  generally 
kept  under  lock  and  key ;  also  some  that  had  to  do  with 
occult  matters.  There  was  even  a  Bible.  I  opened  it 
thoughtlessly,  half  in  idle  curiosity,  to  see  whether  it 
was  ever  used,  only  to  replace  it  in  haste.  For  at  the 
very  page  that  my  eye  fell  on,  I  remember  it  was  one 
of  my  favourite  chapters  in  Isaiah,  was  a  stamp  in 
violet  ink  marked  H.  M.'s  Prison — well,  I  won't  say 
where. 

I  may  state,  however,  that  the  clue  enabled  me  in 
after  years  to  learn  an  episode  in  this  man's  life  which 
had  brought  about  his  ruin.  There  is  no  need  to  repeat 
it  or  to  say  more  than  that  gambling  and  an  evil  use  of 
his  medical  knowledge  to  provide  the  money  to  pay  his 
debts,  were  the  cause  of  his  fall.  The  strange  thing  is 
that  he  should  ever  have  kept  the  book  which  had  prob- 
ably been  given  to  him  by  the  prison  chaplain.  Still 
everybody  makes  mistakes  sometimes.  Or  it  may  have 
had  associations  for  him,  and  of  course  he  had  never 
seen  this  stamp  upon  an  unread  page,  which  happened 
to  leap  to  my  eye. 

Now  I  was  able  to  make  a  shrewd  guess  at  his  later 


62  FINISHED 

career.  After  his  trouble  he  had  emigrated  and  began 
to  practise  in  South  Africa.  Somehow  his  identity  had 
been  discovered ;  his  past  was  dragged  up  against  him, 
possibly  by  rivals  jealous  of  his  skill;  his  business  went 
and  he  found  it  advisable  to  retire  to  the  Transvaal 
before  the  Annexation,  at  that  time  the  home  of  sundry 
people  of  broken  repute.  Even  there  he  did  not  stop  in 
a  town,  but  hid  himself  upon  the  edge  of  savagery. 
Here  he  foregathered  with  another  man  of  queer  char- 
acter, Marnham,  and  in  his  company  entered  upon  some 
doubtful  but  lucrative  form  of  trade  while  still  indulg- 
ing his  love  of  medicine  by  doctoring  and  operating 
upon  natives,  over  whom  he  would  in  this  way  acquire 
great  influence.  Indeed,  as  I  discovered  before  the  day 
was  over,  he  had  quite  a  little  hospital  at  the  back  of 
the  house  in  which  were  four  or  five  beds  occupied  by 
Kaffirs  and  served  by  two  male  native  nurses  whom  he 
had  trained.  Also  numbers  of  out-patients  visited  him, 
some  of  whom  travelled  from  great  distances,  and  occa- 
sionally, but  not  often,  he  attended  white  people  who 
chanced  to  be  in  the  neighbourhood. 

The  three  of  us  breakfasted  in  a  really  charming 
room  from  the  window  of  which  could  be  studied  a 
view  as  beautiful  as  any  I  know.  The  Kaffirs  who 
waited  were  well  trained  and  dressed  in  neat  linen  uni- 
forms. The  cooking  was  good ;  there  was  real  silver 
on  the  table,  then  a  strange  sight  in  that  part  of  Africa, 
and  amongst  engravings  and  other  pictures  upon  the 
walls,  hung  an  oil  portrait  of  a  very  beautiful  young 
woman  with  dark  hair  and  eyes. 

*'  Is  that  your  daughter,  Mr.  Marnham?  "  I  asked. 

"  No,"  he  replied  rather  shortl}^,  "  it  is  her  mother." 

Immediately  afterwards  he  was  called  from  the  room 
to  speak  to  some  one,  whereon  the  doctor  said — 


DOCTOR  RODD  63 

"  A  foreigner  as  you  see,  a  Hungarian ;  the  Hunga- 
rian women  are  very  good  looking  and  very  charming." 

"  So  I  have  understood,"  I  answered,  ''  but  does  this 
lady  live  here  ?  " 

'*  Oh,  no.  She  is  dead,  or  I  believe  that  she  is  dead. 
I  am  not  sure,  because  I  make  it  a  rule  never  to  pry  into 
people's  private  affairs.  All  I  know  about  her  is  that 
she  was  a  beauty  whom  Marnham  married  late  in  life 
upon  the  Continent  when  she  was  but  eighteen.  As  is 
common  in  such  cases  he  was  very  jealous  of  her,  but 
it  didn't  last  long,  as  she  died,  or  I  understand  that  she 
died,  within  a  year  of  her  daughter's  birth.  The  loss 
affected  him  so  much  that  he  emigrated  to  South  Africa 
with  the  child  and  began  life  anew.  I  do  not  think  that 
they  correspond  with  Hungary,  and  he  never  speaks  of 
her  even  to  his  daughter,  which  suggests  that  she  is 
dead." 

I  reflected  that  all  these  circumstances  might  equally 
well  suggest  several  other  things,  but  said  nothing, 
thinking  it  wisest  not  to  pursue  the  subject.  Presently 
Marnham  returned  and  informed  me  that  a  native  had 
just  brought  him  word  that  the  Basutos  had  made  off 
homeward  with  our  cattle,  but  had  left  the  wagon  and 
its  contents  quite  untouched,  not  even  stealing  the 
spare  guns  and  ammunition. 

"  That's  luck,"  I  said,  astonished,  "  but  extremely 
strange.     How  do  you  explain  it,  Mr.  Marnham?" 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  answered — 
•    "  As  every  one  knows,  you  are  a  much  greater  expert 
in  native  habits  and  customs  than  I  am,  Mr.  Ouater- 
main." 

"  There  are  only  two  things  that  I  can  think  of,"  I 
said.  "  One  is  that  for  some  reason  or  other  they 
thought  the  wagon  tagati,  bewitched  you  know,  and 


64  FINISHED 

that  it  would  bring  evil  on  them  to  touch  it,  though 
this  did  not  apply  to  the  oxen.  The  other  is  that  they 
supposed  it,  but  not  the  oxen,  to  belong  to  some  friend 
of  their  own  whose  property  they  did  not  wish  to 
injure." 

He  looked  at  me  sharply  but  said  nothing,  and  I  went 
on  to  tell  them  the  details  of  the  attack  that  had  been 
made  upon  us,  adding — 

"The  odd  part  of  the  affair  is  that  one  of  those 
Basutos  called  out  to  us  that  some  infernal  scoundrel 
of  a  white  man  had  warned  Sekukuni  of  our  coming 
and  that  he  had  ordered  them  to  take  our  guns  and 
cattle.  This  Basuto,  who  was  wounded  and  praying 
for  mercy,  was  drowned  before  he  could  tell  me  who 
the  white  man  was." 

"  A  Boer,  I  expect,"  said  Marnham  quietly.  "  As 
you  know  they  are  not  particularly  well  affected  to- 
wards us  English  just  now.  Also  I  happen  to  be  aware 
that  some  of  them  are  intriguing  with  Sekukuni  against 
the  British  through  Makurupiji,  his  '  Mouth  '  or  prime- 
minister,  a  very  clever  old  scamp  who  likes  to  have  two 
stools  to  sit  on." 

"  And  doubtless  will  end  by  falling  between  them. 
Well,  you  see,  now  that  I  think  of  it,  the  wounded  Kaf- 
fir only  said  that  they  were  ordered  to  take  our  guns 
and  oxen,  and  incidentally  our  lives.  The  wagon  was 
not  mentioned." 

"  Quite  so,  Mr.  Quatermain.  I  will  send  some  of  our 
boys  to  help  your  servants  to  bring  everything  it  con- 
tains up  here." 

"  Can't  you  lend  me  a  team  of  oxen,"  I  asked,  "  to 
drag  it  to  the  house?" 

**  No,  we  have  nothing  but  young  cattle  left.  Both 
red-water  and  lung-sickness  have  been  so  bad  this  sea- 


DOCTOR  RODD  6^ 

son  that  all  the  horned  stock  have  been  swept  out  of  the 
country.  I  doubt  whether  you  could  beg,  borrow  or 
steal  a  team  of  oxen  this  side  of  Pretoria,  except  from 
some  of  the  Dutchmen  who  won't  part." 

"  That's  awkward.  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  trek  in  a 
day  or  two." 

"  Your  friend  won't  be  able  to  trek  for  a  good  many 
days  at  the  best,"  broke  in  the  doctor,  who  had  been 
listening  unconcernedly,  "  but  of  course  you  could  get 
away  on  the  horse  after  it  has  rested." 

"  You  told  me  you  left  a  span  of  oxen  at  Pretoria," 
said  Marnham.  "  Why  not  go  and  fetch  them  here,  or 
if  you  don't  like  to  leave  Mr.  Anscombe,  send  your 
driver  and  the  boys." 

"  Thanks  for  the  idea.  I  will  think  it  over,"  I  an- 
swered. 

That  morning  after  Footsack  and  the  voorlooper 
had  been  sent  with  some  of  the  servants  from  the 
Temple  to  fetch  up  the  contents  of  the  wagon,  for  I 
was  too  tired  to  accompany  them,  having  found  that 
Anscombe  was  still  asleep,  I  determined  to  follow  his 
example.  Finding  a  long  chair  on  the  stoep,  I  sat 
down  and  slumbered  in  it  sweetly  for  hours.  I  dreamt 
of  all  sorts  of  things,  then  through  my  dreams  it 
seemed  to  me  that  I  heard  two  voices  talking,  those 
of  our  hosts,  Marnham  and  Rodd,  not  on  the  stoep, 
but  at  a  distance  from  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact  they  ^ 
were  talking,  but  so  far  away  that  in  my  ordinary 
waking  state  I  could  never  have  heard  them.  My  own 
belief  is  that  the  senses,  and  I  may  add  the  semi-spir- 
itual part  of  us,  are  much  more  acute  when  we  lie  half 
bound  in  the  bonds  of  sleep,  than  when  we  are  what  is 
called  wide  awake.  Doubtless  when  we  are  quite 
bound  they  attain  the  limits  of  their  power  and,  I 


66  FINISHED 

think,  sail  at  times  to  the  uttermost  ends  of  being. 
But  unhappily  of  their  experiences  we  remember  noth- 
ing when  we  awake.  In  half  sleep  it  is  different;  then 
we  do  retain  some  recollection. 

In  this  curious  condition  of  mind  it  seemed  to  me 
that  Rodd,  said  to  Marnham — 

**  Why  have  you  brought  these  men  here?" 

"  I  did  not  bring  them  here,"  he  answered.  "  Luck, 
Fate,  Fortune,  God  or  the  Devil,  call  it  what  you  will, 
brought  them  here,  though  if  you  had  your  wish,  it  is 
true  they  would  never  have  come.  Still,  as  they  have 
come,  I  am  glad.  It  is  something  to  me,  living  in  this 
hell,  to  get  a  chance  of  talking  to  English  gentlemen 
again  before  I  die." 

"English  gentlemen?"  queried  Rodd  reflectively. 
"  Well,  Anscombe  is  of  course,  but  how  about  that  old 
hunter?  After  all,  in  what  way  is  he  better  than  the 
scores  of  other  hunters  and  Kaffir  traders  and  wan- 
derers whom  one  meets  in  this  strange  land?" 

"  In  what  way  indeed?  "  thought  I  to  myself,  in  my 
dream. 

"  If  you  can't  see,  I  can't  explain  to  you.  But  as  I 
happen  to  know,  the  man  is  of  blood  as  good  as  mine 
— and  a  great  deal  better  than  yours,"  he  added  with 
a  touch  of  insolence.  '*  Moreover,  he  has  an  honest 
name  among  white  and  black,  which  is  much  in  this 
country." 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  doctor  in  the  same  reflective 
voice,  "  I  agree  with  you,  I  let  him  pass  as  a  gentle- 
man. But  I  repeat.  Why  did  you  bring  them  here 
when  with  one  more  word  it  would  have  been  so 
easy "  and  he  stopped. 

"  I  have  told  you,  it  was  not  I.  What  are  you  driv- 
ing at?" 


DOCTOR  RODD  67 

"  Do  you  think  it  is  exactly  convenient,  especially 
now  when  we  are  under  the  British  flag  again,  to  have 
two  people  who,  we  both  admit,  are  English  gentlemen, 
that  is,  clean,  clear-eyed  men,  considering  us  and  our 
affairs  for  an  indefinite  period,  just  because  you  wish 
for  the  pleasure  of  their  society?  Would  it  not  have 
been  better  to  tell  those  Basutos  to  let  them  trek  on  to 
Pretoria?" 

"  I  don't  know  what  would  have  been  better.  I 
repeat,  what  are  you  driving  at  ?  " 

"  Heda  is  coming  home  in  a  day  or  two ;  she  might 
be  here  any  time,"  remarked  Rodd  as  he  knocked  the 
ashes  out  of  his  pipe. 

"  Yes,  because  you  made  me  write  and  say  that  I 
wanted  her.     But  what  of  that?" 

"  Nothing  in  particular,  except  that  I  am  not  sure 
that  I  wish  her  to  associate  with  *  an  English  gen- 
tleman '  like  this  Anscombe." 

Marnham  laughed  scornfully.  "Ah!  I  under- 
stand," he  said.  *'  Too  clean  and  straight.  Complica- 
tions might  ensue  and  the  rest  of  it.  Well,  I  wish  to 
God  they  would,  for  I  know  the  Anscombes,  or  used  to, 
and  I  know  the  genus  called  Rodd." 

"  Don't  be  insulting ;  you  may  carry  the  thing  too  far 
one  day,  and  whatever  I  have  done  I  have  paid  for. 
But  you  have  not  paid — yet." 

"  The  man  is  very  ill.  You  are  a  skilled  doctor.  If 
you  are  afraid  of  him,  why  don't  you  kill  him?  "  asked 
Marnham  with  bitter  scorn. 

"  There  you  have  me,"  replied  Rodd.  "  Men  may 
shed  much,  but  most  of  them  never  shed  their  profes- 
sional honour.  I  shall  do  my  honest  best  to  cure  Mr. 
Anscombe,  and  I  tell  you  that  he  will  take  some 
curing." 


68  FINISHED 

Then  I  woke  up,  and  as  no  one  was  in  sight,  won- 
dered whether  or  no  I  had  been  dreaming.  The  upshot 
of  it  was  that  I  made  up  my  mind  to  send  Footsack  to 
Pretoria  for  the  oxen,  not  to  go  myself. 


CHAPTER  V 

A  GAME  OF  CARDS 

I  SLEPT  in  Anscombe's  room  that  night  and  looked 
after  him.  He  was  very  feverish  and  the  pain  in  his 
leg  kept  him  awake  a  good  deal.  He  told  me  that  he 
could  not  bear  Dr.  Rodd  and  wished  to  get  away  at 
once.  I  had  to  explain  to  him  that  this  was  impossible 
until  his  spare  oxen  arrived  which  I  was  going  to  send 
for  to  Pretoria,  but  of  other  matters,  including  that  of 
the  dangerous  state  of  his  foot,  I  said  nothing.  I  was 
thankful  when,  towards  two  in  the  morning,  he  fell  into 
a  sound  sleep  and  allowed  me  to  do  the  same. 

Before  breakfast  time,  just  as  I  had  finished  dressing 
myself  in  some  of  the  clean  things  which  had  been 
brought  from  the  wagon,  Rodd  came  and  made  a 
thorough  and  business-like  examination  of  his  patient, 
while  I  awaited  the  result  with  anxiety  on  the  stoep. 
At  length  he  appeared  and  said — 

**  Well,  I  think  that  we  shall  be  able  to  save  the  foot, 
though  I  can't  be  quite  sure  for  another  twenty-four 
hours.  The  worst  symptoms  have  abated  and  his  tem- 
perature is  down  by  two  degrees.  Anyway  he  will 
have  to  stay  in  bed  and  live  on  light  food  till  it  is 
normal,  after  which  he  might  lie  in  a  long  chair  on  the 
stoep.     On  no  account  must  he  attempt  to  stand.'' 

I  thanked  him  for  his  information  heartily  enough 
and  asked  him  if  he  knew  where  Marnham  was,  as  I 

69 


70  FINISHED 

wanted  to  speak  to  him  with  reference  to  the  despatch 
of  Footsack  to  fetch  the  oxen  from  Pretoria. 

"  Not  up  yet,  I  think,"  he  answered.  "  I  fancy  that 
yesterday  was  one  of  his  '  wet '  nights,  excitement  of 
meeting  strangers  and  so  on." 

''  Wet  nights?  "  I  queried,  wishing  for  a  clearer  ex- 
planation. 

''  Yes,  he  is  a  grand  old  fellow,  one  of  the  best,  but 
like  most  other  people  he  has  his  little  weaknesses,  and 
when  the  fit  is  on  him  he  can  put  away  a  surprising 
amount  of  liquor.  I  tell  you  so  that  you  should  not 
be  astonished  if  you  notice  anything,  or  try  to  argue 
with  him  when  he  is  in  that  state,  as  then  his  temper  is 
apt  to  be — well,  lively.  Now  I  must  go  and  give  him  a 
pint  of  warm  milk;  that  is  his  favourite  antidote,  and 
in  fact  the  best  there  is." 

I  thought  to  myself  that  we  had  struck  a  nice  estab- 
lishment in  which  to  be  tied,  literally  by  the  leg,  for  an 
indefinite  period.  I  was  not  particularly  flush  at  the 
time,  but  I  know  I  would  have  paid  a  £ioo  to  be  out  of 
it :  before  the  end  I  should  have  been  glad  to  throw  in 
everything  that  I  had.  But  mercifully  that  was  hidden 
from  me. 

Rodd  and  I  breakfasted  together  and  discoursed  of 
Kaffir  customs,  as  to  which  he  was  singularly  well  in- 
formed. Then  I  accompanied  him  to  see  his  native 
patients  in  the  little  hospital  of  which  I  have  spoken. 
Believing  the  man  to  be  a  thorough  scamp  as  I  did,  ii 
was  astonishing  to  me  to  note  how  gentle  and  forbear- 
ing he  was  to  these  people.  Of  his  skill  I  need  say 
nothing,  as  that  was  evident.  He  was  going  to  per- 
form an  internal  operation  upon  a  burly  old  savage, 
rather  a  serious  one  I  believe ;  at  any  rate  it  necessitated 
chloroform.    He  asked  me  if  I  would  like  to  assist,  but 


A  GAME  OF  CARDS  71 

I  declined  respectfully,  having  no  taste  for  such  things. 
So  I  left  him  boiling  his  instruments  and  putting  on 
what  looked  like  a  clean  nightgown  over  his  clothes,  and 
returned  to  the  stoep. 

Here  I  found  Marnham,  whose  eyes  were  rather 
bloodshot,  though  otherwise,  except  for  a  shaky  hand, 
he  seemed  right  enough.  He  murmured  something 
about  having  overslept  himself  and  inquired  very  po- 
litely, for  his  manners  were  beautiful,  after  Anscombe 
and  as  to  whether  we  were  quite  comfortable,  and  so 
forth.  After  this  I  consulted  him  as  to  the  best  road 
for  our  servants  to  travel  by  to  Pretoria,  and  later  on 
despatched  them,  giving  Footsack  various  notes  to 
ensure  the  delivery  of  the  oxen  to  him.  Also  I  gave 
him  some  money  to  pay  for  their  keep  and  told  him 
with  many  threats  to  get  back  with  the  beasts  as  quick 
as  he  could  travel.  Then  I  sent  him  and  the  two  other 
boys  off,  not  without  misgivings,  although  he  was  an 
experienced  man  in  his  way  and  promised  faithfully  to 
fulfil  every  injunction  to  the  letter.  To  me  he  seemed 
so  curiously  glad  to  go  that  I  inquired  the  reason,  since 
after  a  journey  like  ours,  it  would  have  been  more 
natural  if  he  had  wished  to  rest. 

"Oh!  Baas,"  he  said,  "I  don't  think  this  Tampel 
very  healthy  for  coloured  people.  I  am  told  of  some 
who  have  died  here.  That  man  Karl  who  gave  me  the 
diamond,  I  think  he  must  have  died  also,  at  least  I  saw 
his  spook  last  night  standing  over  me  and  shaking  his 
head,  and  the  boys  saw  it  too." 

"  Oh!  be  off  with  your  talk  of  spooks,"  I  said,  ''  and 
come  back  quickly  with  those  oxen,  or  I  promise  you 
that  you  will  die  and  be  a  spook  yourself." 

"I  will.  Baas,  I  will!"  he  ejaculated  and  departed 
almost  at  a  run,  leaving  me  rather  uncomfortable. 


72  FINISHED 

I  believed  nothing  of  the  tale  of  the  spook  of  Karl, 
but  saw  that  Footsack  believed  in  it,  and  was  afraid 
lest  he  might  be  thereby  prevented  from  returning.  I 
would  much  rather  have  gone  myself,  but  it  was  im- 
possible for  me  to  leave  Anscombe  so  ill  in  the  hands  of 
our  strange  hosts.  And  there  was  no  one  else  whom  I 
could  send.  I  might  perhaps  have  ridden  to  Pilgrim's 
Rest  and  tried  to  find  a  white  messenger  there ;  indeed 
afterwards  I  regretted  not  having  done  so,  although  it 
would  have  involved  at  least  a  day's  absence  at  a  very 
critical  time.  But  the  truth  is  I  never  thought  of  it 
until  too  late,  and  probably  if  I  had,  I  should  not  have 
been  able  to  discover  any  one  whom  I  could  trust. 

As  I  walked  back  to  the  house,  having  parted  from 
Footsack  on  the  top  of  a  neighbouring  ridge  whence  I 
could  point  out  his  path  to  him,  I  met  Marnham  riding 
away.  He  pulled  up  and  said  that  he  was  going  down 
to  the  Granite  stream  to  arrange  about  setting  some  one 
to  watch  our  wagon.  I  expressed  sorrow  that  he 
should  have  the  trouble,  which  should  have  been  mine 
if  I  could  have  got  away,  whereon  he  answered  that  he 
was  glad  of  the  opportunity  for  a  ride,  as  it  was  some- 
thing to  do. 

"  How  do  you  fill  in  your  time  here,"  I  asked  care- 
lessly, "  as  you  don't  farm  ?  " 

"  Oh !  by  trading,"  he  replied,  and  with  a  nod  set  his 
horse  to  a  canter. 

A  queer  sort  of  trading,  thought  I  to  myself,  where 
there  is  no  store.  Now  what  exactly  does  he  trade  in, 
I  wonder? 

As  it  happened  I  was  destined  to  find  out  before  I 
was  an  hour  older.  Having  given  Anscombe  a  look 
and  found  that  he  was  comfortable,  I  thought  that  I 
would  inspect  the  quarry  whence  the  marble  came  of 


A  GAME  OF  CARDS  73 

which  the  house  was  built,  as  it  had  occurred  to  me  that 
if  there  was  plenty  of  it,  it  might  be  worth  exploiting 
some  time  in  the  future.  It  had  been  pointed  out  to  me 
in  the  midst  of  some  thorns  in  a  gully  that  ran  at  right 
angles  to  the  main  kloof  not  more  than  a  few  hundred 
yards  from  the  house.  Following  a  path  over  which 
the  stones  had  been  dragged  originally,  I  came  to  the 
spot  and  discovered  that  a  little  cavity  had  been 
quarried  in  what  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  positive  moun- 
tain of  pure  white  marble.  I  examined  the  place  as 
thoroughly  as  I  could,  climbing  among  some  bushes  that 
grew  in  surface  earth  which  had  been  washed  down 
from  the  top,  in  order  to  do  so. 

At  the  back  of  these  bushes  there  was  a  hole  large 
enough  for  a  man  to  creep  through.  I  crept  through 
with  the  object  of  ascertaining  whether  the  marble 
veins  continued.  To  my  surprise  I  found  a  stout  yel- 
low-wood door  within  five  feet  of  the  mouth  of  the 
hole.  Reflecting  that  no  doubt  it  was  here  that  the 
quarrymen  kept,  or  had  kept  their  tools  and  explosives, 
I  gave  it  a  push.  I  suppose  that  it  had  been  left  un- 
fastened accidentally,  or  that  something  had  gone 
wrong  with  the  lock;  at  any  rate  it  swung  open.  Pur- 
suing my  researches  as  to  the  depth  of  the  marble,  I 
advanced  boldly  and,  the  place  being  dark,  struck  a 
match.  Evidently  the  marble  did  continue,  as  I  could 
see  by  the  glittering  roof  of  a  cavern,  for  such  it  was. 
But  the  floor  attracted  my  attention  as  well  as  the  roof, 
for  on  it  were  numerous  long  cases  not  unlike  coffins, 
bearing  the  stamp  of  a  well-known  Birmingham  firm, 
labelled  ''  fencing  iron "  and  addressed  to  Messrs. 
Marnham  &  Rodd,  Transvaal,  via  Delagoa  Bay. 

I  knew  at  once  what  they  were,  having  seen  the  like 
before,  but  if  any  doubt  remained  in  my  mind  it  was 


74  FINISHED 

easy  to  solve,  for  as  it  chanced  one  of  the  cases  was 
open  and  half  emptied.  I  slipped  my  hand  into  it. 
As  I  thought  it  contained  the  ordinary  Kaffir  gun  of 
commerce,  cost  delivered  in  Africa,  say  35^. ;  cost  de- 
livered to  native  chief  in  cash  or  cattle,  say  £10,  which, 
when  the  market  is  eager,  allows  for  a  decent  profit. 
Contemplating  those  cases,  the  survivors  probably  of  a 
much  larger  stock,  I  understood  how  it  came  about  that 
Sekukuni  had  dared  to  show  fight  against  the  Govern- 
ment. Doubtless  it  was  hence  that  the  guns  had  come 
which  sent  a  bullet  through  Anscombe's  foot  and  nearly 
polished  off  both  of  us. 

Moreover,  as  further  matches  showed  me,  that  cave 
contained  other  stores — item,  kegs  of  gunpowder;  item, 
casks  of  cheap  spirit;  item,  bars  of  lead,  also  a  box 
marked  "  bullet  moulds  "  and  another  marked  "  per- 
cussion caps."  I  think,  too,  there  were  some  innocent 
bags  full  of  beads  and  a  few  packages  of  Birmingham- 
made  assegai  blades.  There  may  have  been  other 
things,  but  if  so  I  did  not  wait  to  investigate  them. 
Gathering  up  the  ends  of  my  burnt  matches  and,  in  case 
there  should  be  any  dust  in  the  place  that  would  show 
footmarks,  flapping  the  stone  floor  behind  me  with  my 
pocket  handkerchief,  I  retired  and  continued  my  inves- 
tigations of  that  wonderful  marble  deposit  from  the 
bottom  of  the  quarry,  to  which,  having  re-arranged  the 
bushes,  I  descended  by  another  route,  leaping  like  a 
buck  from  stone  to  stone. 

It  was  just  as  well  that  I  did  so,  for  a  few  minutes 
later  Dr.  Rodd  appeared. 

''Made  a  good  job  of  your  operation?"  I  asked 
cheerfully. 

"  Pretty  fair,  thanks,"  he  answered,  "  although  that 
old  Kaffir  tried  to  brain  the  nurse-man  when  he  was 


A  GAME  OF  CARDS  75 

coming  out  of  the  anaesthetic.     But  are  you  interested 
in  geology?  " 

"  A  little,"  I  replied,  "  that  is  if  there  is  any  chance 
of  making  money  out  of  it,  which  there  ought  to  be 
here,  as  this  marble  looks  almost  as  good  as  that  of 
Carrara.  But  flint  instruments  are  more  my  line,  that 
is  in  an  ignorant  and  amateur  way,  as  I  think  they  are 
in  yours,  for  I  saw  some  in  your  room.  Tell  me,  what 
do  you  think  of  this  ?  Is  it  a  scraper  ?  "  and  I  produced 
a  stone  out  of  my  pocket  which  I  had  found  a  week 
before  in  the  bush-veld. 

At  once  he  forgot  his  suspicions,  of  which  I  could  see 
he  arrived  very  full  indeed.  This  curious  man,  as  it 
happened,  was  really  fond  of  flint  instruments,  of 
which  he  knew  a  great  deal. 

"  Did  you  find  this  here  ?  "  he  asked. 

I  led  him  several  yards  further  from  the  mouth  of 
the  cave  and  pointed  out  the  exact  spot  where  I  said  I 
had  picked  it  up  amongst  some  quarry  debris.  Then 
followed  a  most  learned  discussion,  for  it  appeared  that 
this  was  a  flint  instrument  of  the  rarest  and  most 
valuable  type,  one  that  Noah  might  have  used,  or  Job 
might  have  scraped  himself  with,  and  the  question  was 
how  the  dickens  had  it  come  among  that  quarry  debris. 
In  the  end  we  left  the  problem  undecided,  and  having 
presented  the  article  to  Dr.  Rodd,  a  gift  for  which  he 
thanked  me  with  real  warmth,  I  returned  to  the  house 
filled  with  the  glow  that  rewards  one  who  has  made  a 
valuable  discovery. 

Of  the  following  three  days  I  have  nothing  par- 
ticular to  say,  except  that  during  them  I  was  perhaps 
more  acutely  bored  than  ever  I  had  been  in  my  life 
before.  The  house  was  beautiful  in  its  own  fashion; 
the  food  was  excellent;  there  was  everything  I  could 


76  FINISHED 

want  to  drink,  and  Rodd  announced  that  he  no  longer 
feared  the  necessity  of  operation  upon  Anscombe's  leg. 
His  recovery  was  now  a  mere  matter  of  time,  and 
meanwhile  he  must  not  use  his  foot  or  even  let  the 
blood  run  into  it  more  than  could  be  helped,  which 
meant  that  he  must  keep  himself  in  a  recumbent  posi- 
tion. The  trouble  was  that  I  had  nothing  on  earth  to 
do  except  study  the  characters  of  our  hosts,  which  I 
found  disagreeable  and  depressing.  I  might  have  gone 
out  shooting,  but  nothing  of  the  sort  was  allowed  upon 
the  property  in  obedience  to  the  wish  of  Miss  Heda,  a 
mysterious  young  person  who  was  always  expected 
and  never  appeared,  and  beyond  it  I  was  afraid  to 
travel  for  fear  of  the  Basutos.  I  might  have  gone  to 
Pilgrim's  Rest  or  Lydenburg  to  make  report  of  the  ne- 
farious deeds  of  the  said  Basutos,  but  at  best  it  would 
have  taken  one  or  two  days,  and  possibly  I  should  have 
been  detained  by  officials  who  never  consider  any  one's 
time  except  their  own. 

This  meant  that  I  should  have  been  obliged  to  leave 
Anscombe  alone,  which  I  did  not  wish  to  do,  so  I  just 
sat  still  and,  as  I  have  said,  was  intensely  bored,  hang- 
ing about  the  place  and  smoking  more  than  was  good 
for  me. 

In  due  course  Anscombe  emerged  on  to  the  stoep, 
where  he  lay  with  his  leg  up,  and  was  also  bored, 
especially  after  he  had  tried  to  pump  old  Marnham 
about  his  past  in  the  Guards  and  completely  failed.  It 
was  in  this  mood  of  utter  dejection  that  we  agreed  to 
play  a  game  of  cards  one  evening.  Not  that  either  of 
us  cared  for  cards;  indeed,  personally,  I  have  always 
detested  them  because,  with  various-coloured  counters 
to  represent  money  which  never  passed,  they  had 
formed  one  of  the  afflictions  of  my  youth. 


A  GAME  OF  CARDS  77 

It  was  so  annoying  if  you  won,  to  be  handed  a  num- 
ber of  green  counters  and  be  informed  that  they  rep- 
resented so  many  hundreds  or  thousands  of  pounds,  or 
vice-versa  if  you  lost,  for  as  it  cost  no  one  anything, 
my  dear  father  insisted  upon  playing  for  enormous 
stakes.  Never  in  any  aspect  of  life  have  I  cared  for 
fooling.  Anscombe  also  disliked  cards,  I  think  because 
his  ancestors  too  had  played  with  counters,  such  as 
some  that  I  have  seen  belonging  to  the  Cocoa-Tree 
Club  and  other  gambling  places  of  a  past  generation, 
marked  as  high  as  a  thousand  guineas,  which  counters 
must  next  morning  be  redeemed  in  hard  cash,  whereby 
his  family  had  been  not  a  little  impoverished. 

*'  I  fancy  you  will  find  they  are  high-fliers,"  he  said 
when  the  pair  had  left  to  fetch  a  suitable  table,  for  the 
night  being  very  hot  we  were  going  to  play  on  the  stoep 
by  the  light  of  the  hanging  parafl[in  lamp  and  some 
candles.  I  replied  to  the  effect  that  I  could  not  afford 
to  lose  large  sums  of  money,  especially  to  men  who  for 
aught  I  knew  might  then  be  engaged  in  marking  the 
cards. 

"  I  understand,"  he  answered.  "  Don't  you  bother 
about  that,  old  fellow.  This  is  my  affair,  arranged  for 
my  special  amusement.  I  shan't  grumble  if  the  fun 
costs  something,  for  I  am  sure  there  will  be  fun." 

"  All  right,"  I  said,  "  only  if  we  should  happen  to 
win  money,  it's  yours,  not  mine." 

To  myself  I  reflected,  however,  that  with  these  two 
opponents  we  had  about  as  much  chance  of  winning  as 
a  snowflake  has  of  resisting  the  atmosphere  of  the 
lower  regions. 

Presently  they  returned  with  the  table,  which  had  a 
green  cloth  over  it  that  hung  down  half-way  to  the 
ground.     Also  one  of  the  native  boys  brought  a  tray 


78  FINISHED 

with  spirits,  from  which  I  judged  by  various  signs,  old 
Marnham,  who  had  already  drunk  his  share  at  dinner, 
had  helped  himself  freely  on  the  way.  Soon  we  were 
arranged,  Anscombe,  who  was  to  be  my  partner,  oppo- 
site to  me  in  his  long  chair,  and  the  game  began. 

I  forget  what  particular  variant  of  cards  it  was  we 
played,  though  I  know  it  admitted  of  high  and  pro- 
gressive stakes.  At  first,  however,  these  were  quite 
moderate  and  we  won,  as  I  suppose  we  were  meant  to 
do.  After  half  an  hour  or  so  Marnham  rose  to  help 
himself  to  brandy  and  water,  a  great  deal  of  brandy  and 
very  little  water,  while  I  took  a  nip  of  Hollands,  and 
Anscombe  and  Rodd  filled  their  pipes. 

'*  I  think  this  is  getting  rather  slow,"  said  Rodd  to 
Anscombe.    "  I  vote  we  put  a  bit  more  on." 

"  As  much  as  you  like,"  answered  Anscombe  with  a 
little  drawl  and  twinkle  of  the  eye,  which  always 
showed  that  he  was  amused.  "  Both  Quartermain  and 
I  are  born  gamblers.  Don't  look  angry,  Quatermain, 
you  know  you  are.  Only  if  we  lose  you  will  have  to 
take  a  cheque,  for  I  have  precious  little  cash." 

"  I  think  that  will  be  good  enough,"  replied  the 
doctor  quietly — "  if  you  lose." 

So  the  stakes  were  increased  to  an  amount  that  made 
my  hair  stand  up  stififer  even  than  usual,  and  the  game 
went  on.  Behold!  a  marvel  came  to  pass.  How  it 
happened  I  do  not  know,  unless  Marnham  had  brought 
the  wrong  cards  by  mistake  or  had  grown  too  fuddled 
to  understand  his  partner's  telegraphic  signals,  which  I, 
being  accustomed  to  observe,  saw  him  make,  not  once 
but  often,  still  we  won!  What  is  more,  with  a  few 
set-backs,  we  went  on  winning,  till  presently  the  sums 
written  down  to  our  credit,  for  no  actual  cash  passed, 
were  considerable.     And  all  the  while,  at  the  end  of 


A  GAME  OF  CARDS  79 

each  bout  Marnham  helped  himself  to  more  brandy, 
while  the  doctor  grew  more  mad  in  a  suppressed- 
thunder  kind  of  a  way.  For  my  part  I  became 
alarmed,  especially  as  I  perceived  that  Anscombe  was 
on  the  verge  of  breaking  into  open  merriment,  and 
his  legs  being  up  I  could  not  kick  him  under  the 
table. 

"  My  partner  ought  to  go  to  bed.  Don't  you  think 
we  should  stop  ?  "  I  said. 

**  On  the  whole  I  do,"  replied  Rodd,  glowering  at 
Marnham,  who,  somewhat  unsteadily,  was  engaged  in 
wiping  drops  of  brandy  from  his  long  beard. 

"  D d  if  /  do,"  exclaimed  that  worthy.     "  When 

I  was  young  and  played  with  gentlemen  they  always 
gave  losers  an  opportunity  of  revenge." 

''  Then,"  replied  Anscombe  with  a  flash  of  his  eyes, 
"  let  us  try  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  gentlemen 
with  whom  you  played  in  your  youth.  I  suggest  that 
we  double  the  stakes." 

"That's  right!  That's  the  old  form!"  said  Marn- 
ham. 

The  doctor  half  rose  from  his  chair,  then  sat  down 
again.  Watching  him,  I  concluded  that  he  believed 
his  partner,  a  seasoned  vessel,  was  not  so  drunk  as  he 
pretended  to  be,  and  either  in  an  actual  or  a  figurative 
sense,  had  a  card  up  his  sleeve.  Ifx.so,  it  remained 
there,  for  again  we  won ;  all  the  luck  was  with  us. 

"  I  am  getting  tired,"  drawled  Anscombe.  "  Lemon 
and  water  are  not  sustaining.     Shall  we  stop  ?  " 

''  By  Heaven !  no,"  shouted  Marnham,  to  which  Ans- 
combe replied  that  if  it  was  wished,  he  would  play 
another  hand,  but  no  more. 

"  All  right,"  said  Marnham,  "  but  let  it  be  for  double 
or  quits." 


8o  FINISHED. 

He  spoke  quite  quietly  and  seemed  suddenly  to  have 
grown  sober.  Now  I  think  that  Rodd  made  up  his 
mind  that  he  really  was  acting  and  that  he  really  had 
that  card  up  his  sleeve.  At  any  rate  he  did  not  object. 
I,  however,  was  of  a  different  opinion,  having  often 
seen  drunken  men  succumb  to  an  acces  of  sobriety 
under  the  stress  of  excitement  and  remarked  that  it  did 
not  last  long. 

"  Do  you  really  mean  that  ?  "  I  said,  speaking  for 
the  first  time  and  addressing  myself  to  the  doctor.  ''  I 
don't  quite  know  what  the  sum  involved  is,  but  it  must 
be  large." 

"  Of  course,"  he  answered. 

Then  remembering  that  at  the  worst  Anscombe  stood 
to  lose  nothing,  I  shrugged  my  shoulders  and  held  my 
tongue.  It  was  Marnham's  deal,  and  although  he  was 
somewhat  in  the  shadow  of  the  hanging  lamp  and  the 
candles  had  guttered  out,  I  distinctly  saw  him  play 
some  hocus-pocus  with  the  cards,  but  in  the  circum- 
stances made  no  protest.  As  it  chanced  he  must  have 
hocus-pocused  them  wrong,  for  though  his  hand  was 
full  of  trumps,  Rodd  held  nothing  at  all.  The  battle 
that  ensued  was  quite  exciting,  but  the  end  of  it  was 
that  an  ace  in  the  hand  of  Anscombe,  who  really  was 
quite  a  good  player,  did  the  business,  and  we  won 
again. 

In  the  rather  awful  silence  that  followed  Anscombe 
remarked  in  his  cheerful  drawl — 

*'  I'm  not  sure  that  my  addition  is  quite  right;  we'll 
check  that  in  the  morning,  but  I  make  out  that  you  two 
gentlemen  owe  Quatermain  and  myself  £749  los'' 

Then  the  doctor  broke  out. 

"You  accursed  old  fool,"  he  hissed — there  is  no 
other  word    for   it — at   Marnham.     "How   are   you 


A  GAME  OF  CARDS  8i 

going  to  pay  all  this  money  that  you  have  gambled 
away,  drunken  beast  that  you  are!  " 

"  Easily  enough,  you  felon,"  shouted  Marnham. 
"  So,"  and  thrusting  his  hand  into  his  pocket  he  pulled 
out  a  number  of  uncut  diamonds  which  he  threw  upon 
the  table,  adding,  "  there's  what  will  cover  it  twice 
over,  and  there  are  more  where  they  came  from,  as  you 
know  well  enough,  my  medical  jailbird." 

"  You  dare  to  call  me  that,"  gasped  the  doctor  in  a 
voice  laden  with  fury,  so  intense  that  it  had  deprived 
him  of  his  reason,  "you — you — murderer!  Oh!  why 
don't  I  kill  you  as  I  shall  some  day?  "  and  lifting  his 
glass,  which  was  half  full,  he  threw  the  contents  into 
Marnham's  face. 

"  That's  a  nice  man  for  a  prospective  son-in-law, 
isn't  he  ?  "  exclaimed  the  old  scamp  as,  seizing  the 
brandy  decanter,  he  hurled  it  straight  at  Rodd's  head, 
only  missing  him  by  an  inch. 

"  Don't  you  think  you  had  both  better  go  to  bed, 
gentlemen?"  I  inquired.  "You  are  saying  things 
you  might  regret  in  the  morning." 

Apparently  they  did  think  it,  for  without  another 
word  they  rose  and  marched  off  in  different  directions 
to  their  respective  rooms,  which  I  heard  both  of  them 
lock.  For  my  part  I  collected  the  I.O.U.'s;  also  the 
diamonds  which  still  lay  upon  the  table,  while  Ans- 
combe  examined  the  cards. 

"Marked,  by  Jove!'*  he  said.  "Oh!  my  dear 
Quatermain,  never  have  I  had  such  an  amusing  eve- 
ning in  all  my  life." 

"  Shut  up,  you  silly  idiot,"  I  answered.  "  There'll 
be  murder  done  over  this  business,  and  I  only  hope  it 
won't  be  on  us." 


CHAPTER  VI 


MISS  HEDA 


It  might  be  thought  that  after  all  this  there  would 
have  been  a  painful  explanation  on  the  following 
morning,  but  nothing  of  the  sort  happened.  After  all 
the  greatest  art  is  the  art  of  ignoring  things  without 
which  the  world  could  scarcely  go  on,  even  among  the 
savage  races.  Thus  on  this  occasion  the  two  chief 
actors  in  the  scene  of  the  previous  night  pretended  that 
they  had  forgotten  what  took  place,  as  I  believe,  to  a 
large  extent  truly.  The  fierce  flame  of  drink  in  the 
one  and  of  passion  in  the  other  had  burnt  the  web  of 
remembrance  to  ashes.  They  knew  that  something 
unpleasant  had  occurred  and  its  main  outlines ;  the  rest 
had  vanished  away;  perhaps  because  they  knew  also 
that  they  were  not  responsible  for  what  they  said  and 
did,  and  therefore  that  what  occurred  had  no  right  to 
a  permanent  niche  in  their  memories.  It  was,  as  it 
were,  something  outside  of  their  normal  selves.  At 
least  so  I  conjectured,  and  their  conduct  seemed  to 
give  colour  to  my  guess. 

The  doctor  spoke  to  me  of  the  matter  first. 

"I  fear  there  was  a  row  last  night,"  he  said;  *' it 
has  happened  here  before  over  cards,  and  will  no  doubt 
happen  again  until  matters  clear  themselves  up  some- 
how. Marnham,  as  you  see,  drinks,  and  when  drunk 
is  the  biggest  liar  in  the  world,  and  I,  I  am  sorry  to 
say,  am  cursed  with  a  violent  temper.     Don't  judge 

83 


MISS  HEDA  83 

either  of  us  too  harshly.  If  you  were  a  doctor  you 
would  know  that  all  these  things  come  to  us  with  our 
blood,  and  we  didn't  fashion  our  own  clay,  did  we? 
Have  some  coffee,  won't  you  ?  " 

Subsequently  when  Rodd  wasn't  there,  Marnham 
spoke  also  and  with  that  fine  air  of  courtesy  which  was 
peculiar  to  him. 

"  I  owe  a  deep  apology,"  he  said,  "  to  yourself  and 
Mr.  Anscombe.  I  do  not  recall  much  about  it,  but  I 
know  there  was  a  scene  last  night  over  those  cursed 
cards.  A  weakness  overtakes  me  sometimes.  I  will 
say  no  more,  except  that  you,  who  are  also  a  man  who 
perhaps  have  felt  weaknesses  of  one  sort  or  another, 
will,  I  hope,  make  allowances  for  me  and  pay  no  at- 
tention to  anything  that  I  may  have  said  or  done  in 
the  presence  of  guests;  yes,  that  is  what  pains  me — in 
the  presence  of  guests." 

Something  in  his  distinguished  manner  caused  me 
to  reflect  upon  every  peccadillo  that  I  had  ever  com- 
mitted, setting  it  in  its  very  worst  light. 

"  Quite  so,"  I  answered,  "  quite  so.  Pray  do  not 
mention  the  matter  any  more,  although — "  These 
words  seemed  to  jerk  themselves  out  of  my  throat, 
"  you  did  call  each  other  by  such  very  hard  names." 

"  I  daresay,"  he  answered  with  a  vacant  smile,  ''  but 
if  so  they  meant  nothing." 

"  No,  I  understand,  just  like  a  lovers*  quarrel.  But 
look  here,  you  left  some  diamonds  on  the  table  which 
I  took  to  keep  the  Kaffirs  out  of  temptation.  I  will 
fetch  them." 

"  Did  I?  Well,  probably  I  left  some  I.O.U.'s  also 
which  might  serve  for  pipelights.  So  suppose  we  set 
the  one  against  the  other.  I  don't  know  the  value  of 
either  the  diamonds  or  the  pipelights,  it  may  be  less  or 


84  FINISHED 

more,  but  for  God's  sake  don't  let  me  see  the  beastly 
things  again.     There's  no  need,  I  have  plenty." 

"  I  must  speak  to  Anscombe,"  I  answered.  "  The 
money  at  stake  was  his,  not  mine." 

"  Speak  to  whom  you  will,"  he  replied,  and  I  noted 
that  the  throbbing  vein  upon  his  forehead  indicated  a 
rising  temper.  "  But  never  let  me  see  those  diamonds 
again.  Throw  them  into  the  gutter  if  you  wish,  but 
never  let  me  see  them  again,  or  there  will  be  trouble." 

Then  he  flung  out  of  the  room,  leaving  his  breakfast 
almost  untasted. 

Reflecting  that  this  queer  old  bird  probably  did  not 
wish  to  be  cross-questioned  as  to  his  possession  of  so 
many  uncut  diamonds,  or  that  they  were  worth  much 
less  than  the  sum  he  had  lost,  or  possibly  that  they 
were  not  diamonds  at  all  but  glass,  I  went  to  report 
the  matter  to  Anscombe.  He  only  laughed  and  said 
that  as  I  had  got  the  things  I  had  better  keep  them  until 
something  happened,  for  we  had  both  got  it  into  our 
heads  that  something  would  happen  before  we  had 
done  with  that  establishment. 

So  I  went  to  put  the  stones  away  as  safely  as  I 
could.  While  I  was  doing  so  I  heard  the  rumble  of 
wheels,  and  came  out  just  in  time  to  see  a  Cape  cart, 
drawn  by  four  very  good  horses  and  driven  by  a  Hot- 
tentot in  a  smart  hat  and  a  red  waistband,  pull  up  at 
the  garden  gate.  Out  of  this  cart  presently  emerged  a 
neatly  dressed  lady,  of  whom  all  I  could  see  was  that 
she  was  young,  slender  and  rather  tall;  also,  as  her 
back  was  towards  me,  that  she  had  a  great  deal  of 
auburn  hair. 

*'  There !"  said  Anscombe.  "  I  knew  that  some- 
thing would  happen.  Heda  has  happened.  Quater- 
main,  as  neither  her  venerated  parent  nor  her  loving 


MISS  HEDA  85 

fiance,  for  such  I  gather  he  is,  seems  to  be  about,  you 
had  better  go  and  give  her  a  hand." 

I  obeyed  with  a  groan,  heartily  wishing  that  Heda 
hadn't  happened,  since  some  sense  warned  me  that  she 
would  only  add  to  the  present  complications.  At  the 
gate,  having  given  some  instructions  to  a  very  stout 
young  coloured  woman  who,  I  took  it,  was  her  maid, 
about  a  basket  of  flower  roots  in  the  cart,  she  turned 
round  suddenly  and  we  came  face  to  face  with  the 
gate  between  us.  For  a  moment  we  stared  at  each 
other,  I  reflecting  that  she  really  was  very  pretty  with 
her  delicately-shaped  features,  her  fresh,  healthy-look- 
ing complexion,  her  long  dark  eyelashes  and  her  lithe 
and  charming  figure.  What  she  reflected  about  me  I 
don't  know,  probably  nothing  half  so  complimentary. 
Suddenly,  however,  her  large  greyish  eyes  grew 
troubled  and  a  look  of  alarm  appeared  upon  her 
face. 

"Is  anything  wrong  with  my  father?"  she  asked. 
"  I  don't  see  him." 

''  If  you  mean  Mr.  Marnham,"  I  replied,  lifting  my 
hat,  "  I  believe  that  Dr.  Rodd  and  he " 

"  Never  mind  about  Dr.  Rodd,"  she  broke  in  with 
a  contemptuous  little  jerk  of  her  chin,  "  how  is  my 
father?" 

"  I  imagine  much  as  usual.  He  and  Dr.  Rodd  were 
here  a  little  while  ago,  I  suppose  that  they  have  gone 
out "  (as  a  matter  of  fact  they  had,  but  in  different 
directions). 

''  Then  that's  all  right,"  she  said  with  a  sigh  of 
relief.  "  You  see,  I  heard  that  he  was  very  ill,  which 
is  why  I  have  come  back." 

So,  thought  I  to  myself,  she  loves  that  old  scamp 
and  she — doesn't  love  the  doctor.    There  will  be  more 


86  FINISHED 

trouble  as — sure  as  five  and  two  are  seven.  All  v^e 
wanted  was  a  woman  to  make  the  pot  boil  over. 

Then  I  opened  the  gate  and  took  a  travelling  bag 
from  her  hand  with  my  politest  bow. 

"  My  name  is  Quatermain  and  that  of  my  friend 
Anscombe.  We  are  staying  here,  you  know,"  I  said 
rather  awkwardly. 

*'  Indeed,"  she  answered  with  a  delightful  smile, 
"  what  a  very  strange  place  to  choose  to  stay  in." 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  house,"  I  remarked. 

"  Not  bad,  although  I  designed  it,  more  or  less.  But 
I  was  alluding  to  its  inhabitants." 

This  finished  me,  and  I  am  sure  she  felt  that  I 
could  think  of  nothing  nice  to  say  about  those  inhabi- 
tants, for  I  heard  her  sigh.  We  walked  side  by  side 
up  the  rose-fringed  path  and  presently  arrived  at  the 
stoep,  where  Anscombe,  whose  hair  I  had  cut  very 
nicely  on  the  previous  day,  was  watching  us  from  his 
long  chair.  They  looked  at  each  other,  and  I  saw 
both  of  them  colour  a  little,  out  of  mere  foolishness, 
I  suppose. 

"Anscombe,"  I  said,  ''this  is "  and  I  paused, 

not  being  quite  certain  whether  she  also  was  called 
Marnham. 

"  Heda  Marnham,"  she  interrupted. 

"  Yes — Miss  Heda  Marnham,  and  this  is  the  Hon- 
ourable Maurice  Anscombe." 

"  Forgive  me  for  not  rising,  Miss  Marnham,"  said 
Anscombe  in  his  pleasant  voice  (by  the  way  hers  was 
pleasant  too,  full  and  rather  low,  with  just  a  sugges- 
tion of  something  foreign  about  it).  "A  shot  through 
the  foot  prevents  me  at  present." 

"  Who  shot  you  ?  "  she  asked  quickly. 

"Oh!  only  a  Kaffir." 


MISS  HEDA  87 

"  I  am  so  sorry,  I  hope  you  will  get  well  soon. 
Forgive  me  now,  I  must  go  to  look  for  my 
father." 

"  She  is  uncommonly  pretty,"  remarked  Anscombe, 
"  and  a  lady  into  the  bargain.  In  reflecting  on  old 
Marnham's  sins  we  must  put  it  to  his  credit  that  he 
has  produced  a  charming  daughter." 

"  Too  pretty  and  charming  by  half,"  I  grunted. 

"  Perhaps  Dr.  Rodd  is  of  the  same  way  of  think- 
ing. Great  shame  that  such  a  girl  should  be  handed 
over  to  a  medical  scoundrel  like  Dr.  Rodd.  I  wonder 
if  she  cares  for  him  ?  " 

"  Just  about  as  much  as  a  canary  cares  for  a  tom- 
cat.    I  have  found  that  out  already." 

"  Really,  Quatermain,  you  are  admirable.  I  never 
knew  any  one  who  could  make  a  better  use  of  the 
briefest  opportunity." 

Then  we  were  silent,  waiting,  not  without  a  certain 
impatience,  for  the  return  of  Miss  Heda.  She  did 
return  with  surprising  quickness  considering  that  she 
had  found  time  to  search  for  her  parent,  to  change 
into  a  clean  white  dress,  and  to  pin  a  single  hibiscus 
flower  on  to  her  bodice  which  gave  just  the  touch  of 
colour  that  was  necessary  to  complete  her  costume. 

'*  I  can't  find  my  father,"  she  said,  "  but  the  boys 
say  he  has  gone  out  riding.  I  can't  find  anybody. 
When  you  have  been  summoned  from  a  long  way  off 
and  travelled  post-haste,  rather  to  your  own  incon- 
venience, it  is  amusing,  isn't  it  ?  " 

"Wagons  and  carts  in  South  Africa  don't  arrive 
like  express  trains,  Miss  Marnham,"  said  Anscombe, 
"  so  you  shouldn't  be  offended." 

"  I  am  not  at  all  offended,  Mr.  Anscombe.  Now 
that  I  know  there   is  nothing  the  matter  with  my 


88  FINISHED 

father  I'm But,  tell  me,  how  did  you  get  your 

wound  ? " 

So  he  told  her  with  much  amusing  detail  after  his 
fashion.  She  listened  quietly  with  a  puckered  up  brow 
and  only  made  one  comment.    It  was — 

''  I  wonder  what  white  man  told  those  Sekukuni 
Kaffirs  that  you  were  coming." 

"  I  don't  know,"  he  answered,  ''  but  he  deserves  a 
bullet  through  him  somewhere  above  the  ankle." 

''  Yes,  though  few  people  get  what  they  deserve  in 
this  wicked  world." 

"  So  I  have  often  thought.  Had  it  been  otherwise, 
for  example,  I  should  have  been " 

*'  What  would  you  have  been  ? "  she  asked,  con- 
sidering him  curiously. 

"  Oh  !  a  better  shot  than  Mr.  Allan  Quatermain, 
and  as  beautiful  as  a  lady  I  once  saw  in  my  youth." 

"  Don't  talk  rubbish  before  luncheon,"  I  remarked 
sternly,  and  we  all  laughed,  the  first  wholesome 
laughter  that  I  had  heard  at  the  Temple.  For  this 
young  lady  seemed  to  bring  happiness  and  merriment 
with  her.  I  remember  wondering  what  it  was  of 
which  her  coming  reminded  me,  and  concluding  that 
it  was  like  the  sight  and  smell  of  a  peach  orchard  in 
full  bloom  stumbled  on  suddenly  in  the  black  desert 
of  the  burnt  winter  veld. 

After  this  we  became  quite  friendly.  She  dilated 
on  her  skill  in  having  produced  the  Temple  from  an 
old  engraving,  which  she  fetched  and  showed  to  us, 
at  no  greater  an  expense  than  it  would  have  cost  to 
build  an  ordinary  house. 

''  That  is  because  the  marble  was  at  hand,"  said 
Anscombe. 

"  Quite  so,"  she  replied  demurely.    "  Speaking  in  a 


MISS  HEDA  89 

general  sense  one  can  do  man}^  things  in  life — if  the 
marble  is  at  hand.  Only  most  of  us  when  we  look  for 
marble  find  sandstone  or  mud." 

"  Bravo !  "  said  Anscombe,  "  I  have  generally  lit 
upon  the  sandstone." 

"And  I  on  the  mud,"  she  mused. 

"  And  I  on  all  three,  for  the  earth  contains  marble 
and  mud  and  sandstone,  to  say  nothing  of  gold  and 
jewels,"  I  broke  in,  being  tired  of  silence. 

But  neither  of  them  paid  much  attention  to  me, 
though  Anscombe  did  say,  out  of  politeness,  I  suppose, 
that  pitch  and  subterranean  fires  should  be  added,  or 
some  such  nonsense. 

Then  she  began  to  tell  him  of  her  infantile  memo- 
ries of  Hungary,  which  were  extremely  faint;  of  how 
they  came  to  this  place  and  lived  first  of  all  in  two 
large  Kaffir  huts,  until  suddenly  they  began  to  grow 
rich;  of  her  school  days  at  Maritzburg;  of  the  friends 
with  whom  she  had  been  staying,  and  I  know  not  what, 
until  at  last  I  got  up  and  went  out  for  a  walk. 

When  I  returned  an  hour  or  so  later  they  were  still 
talking,  and  so  continued  to  do  until  Dr.  Rodd  ar- 
rived upon  the  scene.  At  first  they  did  not  see  him, 
for  he  stood  at  an  angle  to  them,  but  I  saw  him  and 
watched  his  face  with  a  great  deal  of  interest.  It, 
or  rather  its  expression,  was  not  pleasant  ;  before 
now  I  have  seen  something  like  it  on  that  of  a  wild 
beast  which  thinks  that  it  is  about  to  be  robbed  of 
its  prey  by  a  stronger  wild  beast,  in  short,  a  mixture 
of  hate,  fear  and  jealousy — especially  jealousy.  At 
the  last  I  did  not  wonder,  for  these  two  seemed  to  be 
getting  on  uncommonly  well. 

They  were,  so  to  speak,  well  matched.  She,  of 
course,  was  the  better  looking  of  the  two,  a  really 


90  FINISHED 

pretty  and  attractive  young  woman  indeed,  but  the 
vivacity  of  Anscombe's  face,  the  twinkle  of  his  merry 
blue  eyes  and  its  general  refinement  made  up  for  what 
he  lacked  in  regularity  of  feature.  I  think  he  had 
just  told  her  one  of  his  good  stories  which  he  always 
managed  to  make  so  humorous  by  a  trick  of  pleasing 
and  harmless  exaggeration,  and  they  were  both  laugh- 
ing merrily.  Then  she  caught  sight  of  the  doctor 
and  her  merriment  evaporated  like  a  drop  of  water 
on  a  hot  shovel.  Distinctly  I  saw  her  pull  herself  to- 
gether and  prepare  for  something. 

*'  How  do  you  do  ?  "  she  said  rapidly,  rising  and 
holding  out  her  slim  sun-browned  hand.  "  But  I 
need  not  ask,  you  look  so  well." 

"  How  do  you  do,  my  dear,"  with  a  heavy  em- 
phasis on  the  ''  dear  "  he  answered  slowly.  "  But  I 
needn't  ask,  for  I  see  that  you  are  in  perfect  health 
and  spirits,"  and  he  bent  forward  as  though  to  kiss 
her. 

Somehow  or  other  she  avoided  that  endearment  or 
seal  of  possession.  I  don't  quite  know  how,  as  I 
turned  my  head  away,  not  wishing  to  witness  what  I 
felt  to  be  unpleasant.  When  I  looked  up  again,  how- 
ever, I  saw  that  she  had  avoided  it,  the  scowl  on  his 
face,  the  demureness  of  hers  and  Anscombe's  evident 
amusement  assured  me  of  this.  She  was  asking  about 
her  father  ;  he  answered  that  he  also  seemed  quite 
well. 

"  Then  why  did  you  write  to  tell  me  that  I 
ought  to  come  back  at  once  as  he  was  not  at  all 
well?"  she  inquired,  with  a  Hfting  of  her  delicate 
eyebrows. 

The  question  was  never  answered,  for  at  that  mo- 
ment Marnham  himself  appeared. 


MISS  HEDA  91 

"  Oh  !  father,"  she  said,  and  rushed  into  his  arms, 
while  he  kissed  her  tenderly  on  both  cheeks. 

So  I  was  not  mistaken,  thought  I  to  myself,  she 
does  really  love  this  moral  wreck,  and  what  is  more, 
he  loves  her,  which  shows  that  there  must  be  good  in 
him.  Is  any  one  truly  bad,  I  wondered,  or  for  the 
matter  of  that,  truly  good  either  ?  Is  it  not  all  a 
question  of  circumstance  and  blood? 

Neither  then  nor  at  any  other  time  have  I  found  an 
answer  to  the  problem.  At  any  rate  to  me  there 
seemed  something  beautiful  about  the  meeting  of  these 
two. 

The  influence  of  Miss  Heda  in  the  house  was  felt 
at  once.  The  boys  became  smarter  and  put  on  clean 
clothes.  Vases  of  flowers  appeared  in  the  various 
rooms;  ours  was  turned  out  and  cleaned,  a  disagree- 
able process  so  far  as  we  were  concerned.  Moreover, 
at  dinner  both  Marnham  and  Rodd  wore  dress  clothes 
with  short  jackets,  a  circumstance  that  put  Anscombe 
and  myself  to  shame  since  we  had  none.  It  was 
curious  to  see  how  with  those  dress  clothes,  which 
doubtless  awoke  old  associations  within  him,  Marn- 
ham changed  his  colour  like  a  chameleon.  Really  he 
might  have  been  the  colonel  of  a  cavalry  regiment  ris- 
ing to  toast  the  Queen  after  he  had  sent  round  the 
wine,  so  polite  and  polished  was  his  talk.  Who  could 
have  identified  the  man  with  the  drunken  old  ruffian 
of  twenty-four  hours  before,  he  who  was  drinking 
claret  (and  very  good  claret  too)  mixed  with  water 
and  listening  with  a  polite  interest  to  all  the  details  of 
his  daughter's  journey?  Even  the  doctor  looked  a 
gentleman,  which  doubtless  he  was  once  upon  a  time, 
in  evening  dress.  Moreover,  some  kind  of  truce  had 
been  arranged.     He  no  longer  called  Miss  Heda  "  My 


92  FINISHED 

dear "  or  attempted  any  familiarities,  while  she  on 
more  than  one  occasion  very  distinctly  called  him  Dr. 
Rodd. 

So  much  for  that  night  and  for  several  others  that 
followed.  As  for  the  days  they  went  by  pleasantly 
and  idly.  Heda  walked  about  on  her  father's  arm, 
conversed  in  friendly  fashion  with  the  doctor,  always 
watching  him,  I  noticed,  as  a  cat  watches  a  dog  that 
she  knows  is  waiting  an  opportunity  to  spring,  and  for 
the  rest  associated  with  us  as  much  as  she  could.  Par- 
ticularly did  she  seem  to  take  refuge  behind  my  own 
insignificance,  having,  I  suppose,  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  I  was  a  harmless  person  who  might  possibly 
prove  useful.  But  all  the  while  I  felt  that  the  storm 
was  banking  up.  Indeed  Marnham  himself,  at  any 
rate  to  a  great  extent,  played  the  part  of  the  cloud- 
compelling  Jove,  for  soon  it  became  evident  to  me,  and 
without  doubt  to  Dr.  Rodd  also,  that  he  was  encour- 
aging the  intimacy  between  his  daughter  and  Ans- 
combe  by  every  means  in  his  power. 

In  one  way  and  another  he  had  fully  informed  him- 
self as  to  Anscombe's  prospects  in  life,  which  were 
brilliant  enough.  Moreover  he  liked  the  man  who,  as 
the  remnant  of  the  better  perceptions  of  his  youth  told 
him,  was  one  of  the  best  class  of  Englishmen,  and 
what  is  more,  he  saw  that  Heda  liked  him  also,  as 
much  indeed  as  she  disliked  Rodd.  He  even  spoke  to 
me  of  the  matter  in  a  round-about  kind  of  fashion, 
saying  that  the  young  woman  who  married  Ans- 
combe  would  be  lucky  and  that  the  father  who  had  him 
for  a  son-in-law  might  go  to  his  grave  confident  of  his 
child's  happiness.  I  answered  that  I  agreed  with  him, 
unless  the  lady's  affections  had  already  caused  her  to 
form  other  ties. 


MISS  HEDA  93 

"  Affections !  "  he  exclaimed,  dropping  all  pretence, 
"  there  are  none  involved  in  this  accursed  business,  as 
you  are  quite  sharp  enough  to  have  seen  for  your- 
self." 

"  I  understood  that  an  engagement  was  involved,'* 
I  remarked. 

"  On  my  part,  perhaps,  not  on  hers,"  he  answered. 
"  Oh !  can't  you  understand,  Quatermain,  that  some- 
times men  find  themselves  forced  into  strange  situa- 
tions against  their  will?  " 

Remembering  the  very  ugly  name  that  I  had  heard 
Rodd  call  Marnham  on  the  night  of  the  card  party,  I 
reflected  that  I  could  understand  well  enough,  but  I 
only  said — 

"After  all  marriage  is  a  matter  that  concerns  a 
woman  even  more  than  it  does  her  father,  one,  in 
short,  of  which  she  must  be  the  judge." 

"  Quite  so,  Quatermain,  but  there  are  some  daugh- 
ters who  are  prepared  to  make  great  sacrifices  for 
their  fathers.  Well,  she  will  be  of  age  ere  long,  if 
only  I  can  stave  it  off  till  then.  But  how,  how  ?  "  and 
with  a  groan  he  turned  and  left  me. 

That  old  gentleman's  neck  is  in  some  kind  of  a 
noose,  thought  I  to  myself,  and  his  difficulty  is  to  pre- 
vent the  rope  from  being  drawn  tight.  Meanwhile 
this  poor  girl's  happiness  and  future  are  at  stake. 

"  Allan,"  said  Anscombe  to  me  a  little  later,  for  by 
now  he  called  me  by  my  Christian  name,  "  I  suppose 
you  haven't  heard  anything  about  those  oxen,  have 
you?" 

"  No,  I  could  scarcely  expect  to  yet,  but  why  do  you 
ask?" 

He  smiled  in  his  droll  fashion  and  replied, 
"  Because,  interesting  as  this  household  is  in  sundry 


94  FINISHED 

ways,  I  think  it  is  about  time  that  we,  or  at  any  rate 
that  I,  got  out  of  it." 

"  Your  leg  isn't  fit  to  travel  yet,  Anscombe,  although 
Rodd  says  that  all  the  symptoms  are  very  satisfac- 
tory." 

"  Yes,  but  to  tell  you  the  truth  I  am  experiencing 
other  symptoms  quite  unknown  to  that  beloved  phy- 
sician and  so  unfamiliar  to  myself  that  I  attribute  them 
to  the  influences  of  the  locality.  Altitude  affects  the 
heart,  does  it  not,  and  this  house  stands  high." 

'*  Don't  play  off  your  jokes  on  me,"  I  said  sternly. 
*'  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

''  I  wonder  if  you  find  Miss  Heda  attractive,  Allan, 
or  if  you  are  too  old.  I  believe  there  comes  an  age 
when  the  only  beauties  that  can  move  a  man  are  those 
of  architecture,  or  scenery,  or  properly  cooked 
food." 

"  Hang  it  all !  I  am  not  Methusaleh,"  I  replied ; 
"  but  if  you  mean  that  you  are  falling  in  love  with 
Heda,  why  the  deuce  don't  you  say  so,  instead  of  wast- 
ing my  time  and  your  own  ?  " 

"  Because  time  was  given  to  us  to  waste.  Prop- 
erly considered  it  is  the  best  use  to  which  it  can  be  put, 
or  at  any  rate  the  one  that  does  least  mischief.  Also 
because  I  wished  to  make  you  say  it  for  me  that  I 
might  judge  from  the  effect  of  your  words  whether 
it  is  or  is  not  true.  I  may  add  that  I  fear  the  former 
to  be  the  case." 

"  Well,  if  you  are  in  love  with  the  girl  you  can't 
expect  one  so  ancient  as  myself,  who  is  quite  out  of 
touch  with  such  follies,  to  teach  you  how  to  act." 

*'  No,  Allan.  Unfortunately  there  are  occasions 
when  one  must  rely  upon  one's  own  wisdom,  and  mine, 
what  there  is  of  it,  tells  me  I  had  better  get  out  of  this. 


MISS  HEDA  95 

But  I  can't  ride  even  if  I  took  the  horse  and  you  ran 
behind,  and  the  oxen  haven't  come." 

"  Perhaps  you  could  borrow  Miss  Marnham's  cart 
in  which  to  run  away  from  her,"  I  suggested  sarcas- 
tically. 

"  Perhaps,  though  I  believe  it  would  be  fatal  to  my 
foot  to  sit  up  in  a  cart  for  the  next  few  days,  and  the 
horses  seem  to  have  been  sent  off  somewhere.  Look 
here,  old  fellow,"  he  went  on,  dropping  his  bantering 
tone,  "  it's  rather  awkward  to  make  a  fool  of  oneself 
over  a  lady  who  is  engaged  to  some  one  else,  especially 
if  one  suspects  that  with  a  little  encouragement  she 
might  begin  to  walk  the  same  road.  The  truth  is  I 
have  taken  the  fever  pretty  bad,  worse  than  ever  I  did 
before,  and  if  it  isn't  stopped  soon  it  will  become 
chronic." 

'*  Oh  no,  Anscombe,  only  intermittent  at  the  worst, 
and  African  malaria  nearly  always  yields  to  a  change 
of  climate." 

"  How  can  I  expect  a  cynic  and  a  misogynist  to 
understand  the  simple  fervour  of  an  inexperienced 
soul — Oh !  drat  it  all,  Quatermain,  stop  your  acid  chaff 
and  tell  me  what  is  to  be  done.  Really  I  am  in  a  tight 
place." 

"  Very;  so  tight  that  I  rejoice  to  think,  as  you  were 
kind  enough  to  point  out,  that  my  years  protect  me 
from  anything  of  the  sort.  I  have  no  advice  to  give ; 
I  think  you  had  better  ask  it  of  the  lady." 

''  Well,  we  did  have  a  little  conversation,  hypo- 
thetical of  course,  about  some  friends  of  ours  who 
found  themselves  somewhat  similarly  situated,  and  I 
regret  to  say  without  result." 

"  Indeed.  I  did  not  know  you  had  any  mutual  ac- 
quaintances.    What  did  she  say  and  do  ?  " 


96  FINISHED 

"  She  said  nothing,  only  sighed  and  looked  as 
though  she  were  going  to  burst  into  tears,  and  all  she 
did  was  to  walk  away.  I'd  have  followed  her  if  I 
could,  but  as  my  crutch  wasn't  there  it  was  impossible. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  suddenly  I  had  come  up  against 
a  brick  wall,  that  there  was  something  on  her  mind 
which  she  could  not  or  would  not  let  out." 

*'  Yes,  and  if  you  want  to  know,  I  will  tell  you  what 
it  is.  Rodd  has  got  a  hold  over  Marnham  of  a  sort 
that  would  bring  him  somewhere  near  the  gallows. 
As  the  price  of  his  silence  Marnham  has  promised  him 
his  daughter.  The  daughter  knows  that  her  father  is 
in  this  man's  power,  though  I  think  she  does  not  know 
in  what  way,  and  being  a  good  girl " 

"  An  angel  you  mean — do  call  her  by  her  right 
name,  especially  in  a  place  where  angels  are  so  much 
wanted." 

"  Well,  an  angel  if  you  like — she  has  promised  on 
her  part  to  marry  a  man  she  loathes  in  order  to  save 
her  parent's  bacon." 

"  Just  what  I  concluded,  from  what  we  heard  in  the 
row.  I  wonder  which  of  that  pair  is  the  bigger  black- 
guard. Well,  Allan,  that  settles  it.  You  and  I  are  on 
the  side  of  the  angel.  You  will  have  to  get  her  out  of 
this  scrape  and — if  she'll  have  me,  I'll  marry  her;  and 
if  she  won't,  why  it  can't  be  helped.  Now  that's  a  fair 
division  of  labour.  How  are  you  going  to  do  it?  I 
haven't  an  idea,  and  if  I  had,  I  should  not  presume  to 
interfere  with  one  so  much  older  and  wiser  than 
myself." 

''  I  suppose  that  by  the  time  you  appeared  in  it,  the 
game  of  heads  I  win  and  tails  you  lose  had  died  out  of 
the  world,"  I  replied  with  an  indignant  snort.  ''  I 
think  the  best  thing  I  can  do  will  be  to  take  the  horse 


MISS  HEDA  97 

and  look  for  those  oxen.  Meanwhile  you  can  settle 
your  business  by  the  light  of  your  native  genius,  and  I 
only  hope  you'll  finish  it  without  murder  and  sudden 
death." 

"  I  say,  old  fellow,"  said  Anscombe  earnestly,  "  you 
don't  really  mean  to  go  off  and  leave  me  in  this  hideous 
mess?  I  haven't  bothered  much  up  to  the  present 
because  I  was  sure  that  you  would  find  a  way  out, 
which  would  be  nothing  to  a  man  of  your  intellect  and 
experience.     I  mean  it  honestly,  I  do  indeed." 

"  Do  you  ?  Well,  I  can  only  say  that  my  mind  is  a 
perfect  blank,  but  if  you  will  stop  talking  I  will  try  to 
think  the  matter  over.  There's  Miss  Heda  in  the  gar- 
den cutting  flowers.  I  will  go  to  help  her,  which  will 
be  a  very  pleasant  change." 

And  I  went,  leaving  him  to  stare  after  me  jealously. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  STOEP 

When  I  reached  Miss  Heda  she  was  collecting  half- 
opened  monthly  roses  from  the  hedge,  and  not  quite 
knowing  what  to  say  I  made  the  appropriate  quota- 
tion. At  least  it  was  appropriate  to  my  thought,  and, 
as  I  inferred  from  her  answer,  to  hers  also. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  "  I  am  gathering  them  while  I 

may,  for  to-morrow "  and  she  sighed  and,  as  I 

thought,  glanced  towards  the  verandah,  though  of  this 
I  could  not  be  sure  because  of  the  wide  brim  of  the 
hat  she  was  wearing. 

Then  we  talked  a  little  on  indifferent  matters,  while 
I  pricked  my  fingers  helping  to  pluck  the  roses.  She 
asked  me  if  I  thought  that  Anscombe  was  getting  on 
well,  and  how  long  it  would  be  before  he  could  travel. 
I  replied  that  Dr.  Rodd  could  tell  her  better  than 
myself,  but  that  I  hoped  in  about  a  week. 

"  In  a  week !  "  she  said,  and  although  she  tried  to 
speak  lightly  there  was  dismay  in  her  voice. 

"  I  hope  you  don't  think  it  too  long,"  I  answered ; 
"  but  even  if  he  is  fit  to  go,  the  oxen  have  not  come 
yet,  and  I  don't  quite  know  when  they  will." 

"  Too  long !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  Too  long !  Oh !  if 
you  only  knew  what  it  is  to  me  to  have  such  guests  as 
you  are  in  this  place,"  and  her  dark  eyes  filled  with 
tears. 

By  now  we  had  passed  to  the  side  of  the  house  in 

98 


THE  STOEP  99 

search  of  some  other  flower  that  grew  in  the  shade,  I 
think  it  was  mignonette,  and  were  out  of  sight  of  the 
verandah  and  quite  alone. 

"  Mr.  Quatermain,"  she  said  hurriedly,  "  I  am  won- 
dering whether  to  ask  your  advice  about  something, 
if  you  would  give  it.  I  have  no  one  to  consult  here," 
she  added  rather  piteously. 

"  That  is  for  you  to  decide.  If  you  wish  to  do  so 
I  am  old  enough  to  be  your  father,  and  will  do  my  best 
to  help." 

We  walked  on  to  an  orange  grove  that  stood  about 
forty  yards  away,  ostensibly  to  pick  some  fruit,  but 
really  because  we  knew  that  there  we  should  be  out  of 
hearing  and  could  see  any  one  who  approached. 

"  Mr.  Quatermain,"  she  said  presently  in  a  low 
voice,  *'  I  am  in  great  trouble,  almost  the  greatest  a 
woman  can  have.  I  am  engaged  to  be  married  to  a 
man  whom  I  do  not  care  for." 

*'  Then  why  not  break  it  off  ?  It  may  be  unpleasant, 
but  it  is  generally  best  to  face  unpleasant  things,  and 
nothing  can  be  so  bad  as  marrying  a  man  whom  you 
do  not — care  for." 

"  Because  I  cannot — I  dare  not.     I  have  to  obey." 

"  How  old  are  you.  Miss  Marnham?  " 

"  I  shall  be  of  age  in  three  months'  time.  You  may 
guess  that  I  did  not  intend  to  return  here  until  they 
were  over,  but  I  was,  well — trapped.  He  wrote  to  me 
that  my  father  was  ill  and  I  came." 

"  At  any  rate  when  they  are  over  you  will  not  have 
to  obey  any  one.     It  is  not  long  to  wait." 

"  It  is  an  eternity.  Besides  this  is  not  so  much  a 
question  of  obedience  as  of  duty  and  of  love.  I  love 
my  father  who,  whatever  his  faults,  has  always  been 
very  kind  to  me." 


100  FINISHED 

"  And  I  am  sure  he  loves  you.  Why  not  go  to  him 
and  tell  him  your  trouble?  " 

"  He  knows  it  already,  Mr.  Quatermain,  and  hates 
this  marriage  even  more  than  I  do,  if  that  is  possible. 
But  he  is  driven  to  it,  as  I  am.  Oh!  I  must  tell  the 
truth.  The  doctor  has  some  hold  over  him.  My 
father  has  done  something  dreadful;  I  don't  know 
what  and  I  don't  want  to  know,  but  if  it  came  out  it 
would  ruin  my  father,  or  worse,  worse.  I  am  the 
price  of  his  silence.  On  the  day  of  our  marriage  he 
will  destroy  the  proofs.  If  I  refuse  to  marry  him, 
they  will  be  produced  and  then " 

"  It  is  difficult,"  I  said. 

"  It  is  more  than  difficult,  it  is  terrible.  If  you 
could  see  all  there  is  in  my  heart,  you  would  know  how 
terrible." 

"  I  think  I  can  see,  Miss  Heda.  Don't  say  any 
more  now.  Give  me  time  to  consider.  In  case  of 
necessity  come  to  me  again,  and  be  sure  that  I  will 
protect  you." 

"  But  you  are  going  in  a  week." 

"  Many  things  happen  in  a  week.  Sufficient  to  the 
day  is  its  evil.  At  the  end  of  the  week  we  will  come  to 
some  decision  unless  everything  is  already  decided." 

For  the  next  twenty-four  hours  I  reflected  on  this 
pretty  problem  as  hard  as  ever  I  did  on  anything  in  all 
my  life.  Here  was  a  young  woman  who  must  some- 
how be  protected  from  a  scoundrel,  but  who  could  not 
be  protected  because  she  herself  had  to  protect  another 
scoundrel — to  wit,  her  own  father.  Could  the  thing 
be  faced  out?  Impossible,  for  I  was  sure  that  Marn- 
ham  had  committed  a  murder,  or  murders,  of  which 
Rodd  possessed  evidence  that  would  hang  him. 
Could  Heda  be  married  to  Anscombe  at  once?     Yes, 


THE  STOEP  loi 

if  both  were  willing,  but  then  Marnham  would  still  be 
hung.  Could  they  elope?  Possibly,  but  with  the 
same  result.  Could  I  take  her  away  and  put  her 
under  the  protection  of  the  Court  at  Pretoria?  Yes, 
but  with  the  same  result.  I  wondered  what  my  old 
Hottentot  retainer,  Hans,  would  have  advised,  he  who 
was  named  Light-in-Darkness,  and  in  his  own  savage 
way  was  the  cleverest  and  most  cunning  man  that  I 
have  met.  Alas !  I  could  not  raise  him  from  the  grave 
to  tell  me,  and  yet  I  knew  well  what  he  would  have 
answered. 

"  Baas,"  he  would  have  said,  "  this  is  a  rope  which 
only  the  pale  old  man  (i.  e.  death)  can  cut.  Let  this 
doctor  die,  or  let  the  father  die,  and  the  maiden  will 
be  free.  Surely  heaven  is  longing  for  one  or  both  of 
them,  and  if  necessary.  Baas,  I  believe  that  I  can  point 
out  a  path  to  heaven !  " 

I  laughed  to  myself  at  the  thought,  which  was  one 
that  a  white  man  could  not  entertain  even  as  a  thought. 
And  yet  I  felt  that  the  hypothetical  Hans  was  right, 
death  alone  could  cut  this  knot,  and  the  reflection  made 
me  shiver. 

That  night  I  slept  uneasily  and  dreamed.  I 
dreamed  that  once  more  I  was  in  the  Black  Kloof  in 
Zululand,  seated  in  front  of  the  huts  at  the  end  of  the 
kloof.  Before  me  squatted  the  old  wizard,  Zikali, 
wrapped  up  in  his  kaross — Zikali,  the  "  Thing-that- 
should-never-have-been-born,"  whom  I  had  not  seen 
for  years.  Near  him  were  the  ashes  of  a  fire,  by  the 
help  of  which  I  knew  he  had  been  practising  divina- 
tion. He  looked  up  and  laughed  one  of  his  terrible 
laughs. 

"  So  you  are  here  again,  Macumazahn,"  he  said, 
"  grown  older,  but  still  the  same ;  here  at  the  appointed 


102  FINISHED 

hour.  What  do  you  come  to  seek  from  the  Opener 
of  Roads?  Not  Mameena  as  I  think  this  time.  No, 
no,  it  is  she  who  seeks  you  this  time,  Macumazahn. 
She  found  you  once,  did  she  not?  Far  away  to  the 
north  among  a  strange  people  who  worshipped  an 
Ivory  Child,  a  people  of  whom  I  knew  in  my  youth, 
and  afterwards,  for  was  not  their  prophet,  Harijt,  a 
friend  of  mine  and  one  of  our  brotherhood?  She 
found  you  beneath  the  tusks  of  the  elephant,  Jana, 
whom  Macumazahn  the  skilful  could  not  hit.  Oh!  do 
not  look  astonished." 

**  How  do  you  know  ? "  I  asked  in  my  dream. 

"  Very  simply,  Macumazahn.  A  little  yellow  man 
named  Hans  has  been  with  me  and  told  me  all  the 
story  not  an  hour  ago,  after  which  I  sent  for  Mameena 
to  learn  if  it  were  true.  She  will  be  glad  to  meet  you, 
Macumazahn,  she  who  has  a  hungry  heart  that  does 
not  forget.  Oh!  don't  be  afraid.  I  mean  here 
beneath  the  sun,  for  in  the  land  beyond  there  will  be 
no  need  for  her  to  meet  you  since  she  will  dwell  ever 
at  your  side." 

"  Why  do  you  lie  to  me,  Zikali  ?  "  I  seemed  to  ask. 
"  How  can  a  dead  man  speak  to  you  and  how  can  I 
meet  a  woman  who  is  dead  ?" 

"  Seek  the  answer  to  that  question  in  the  hour  of  the 
great  battle  when  the  white  men,  your  brothers,  fall 
beneath  the  assegai  as  weeds  fall  before  the  hoe — or 
perhaps  before  it.  But  have  done  with  Mameena, 
since  she  who  never  grows  more  old  can  well  afford 
to  wait.  It  is  not  of  Mameena  that  you  came  to  speak 
to  me;  it  is  of  a  fair  white  woman  named  Heddana  you 
would  speak,  and  of  the  man  she  loves,  you,  who  will 
ever  be  mixing  yourself  up  in  the  affairs  of  others, 
and  therefore  must  bear  their  burdens  with  no  pay 


THE  STOEP  103 

save  that  of  honour.  Hearken,  for  the  time  is  short. 
When  the  storm  bursts  upon  them  bring  hither  the 
fair  maiden,  Heddana,  and  the  white  lord,  Mauriti, 
and  I  will  shelter  them  for  your  sake.  Take  them 
nowhere  else.  Bring  them  hither  if  they  would  escape 
trouble.  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  you,  Macumazahn,  for 
at  last  I  am  about  to  smite  the  Zulu  House  of  Sen- 
zangacona,  my  foes,  with  a  bladder  full  of  blood, 
and  oh!  it  stains  their  doorposts  red." 

Then  I  woke  up,  feeling  afraid,  as  one  does  after  a 
nightmare,  and  was  comforted  to  hear  Anscombe 
sleeping  sweetly  on  the  other  side  of  the  room. 

"Mauriti.  Why  did  Zikali  call  him  Mauriti?"  I 
wondered  drowsily  to  myself.  ''  Oh !  of  course  his 
name  was  Maurice,  and  it  was  a  Zulu  corruption  of  a 
common  sort  as  was  Heddana  of  Heda.  Then  I  dozed 
off  again,  and  by  the  morning  had  forgotten  all  about 
my  dream  until  it  was  brought  back  to  me  by  subse- 
quent events.  Still  it  was  this  and  nothing  else  that 
put  it  into  my  head  to  fly  to  Zululand  on  an  emergency 
that  was  to  arise  ere  long.^ 

That  evening  Rodd  was  absent  from  dinner,  and  on 
inquiring  where  he  might  be,  I  was  informed  that  he 
had  ridden  to  visit  a  Kaffir  headman,  a  patient  of  his 
who  lived  at  a  distance,  and  would  very  probably  sleep 
at  the  kraal,  returning  early  next  day.  One  of  the 
topics  of  conversation  during  dinner  was  as  to  where 
the  exact  boundary  line  used  to  run  between  the 
Transvaal  and  the  country  over  which  the  Basuto 
chief,  Sekukuni,  claimed  ownership  and  jurisdiction. 
Marnham  said  that  it  passed  within  a  couple  of  miles 
of  his  house,  and  when  we  rose,  the  moon,  being  very 

^  For  the  history  of  Zikali  and  Mameena  see  the  book  called 
"Child  of  Storm,"  by  H.  Rider  Haggard. 


I04  FINISHED 

bright,  offered  to  show  me  where  the  beacons  had  been 
placed  years  before  by  a  Boer  Commission.  I  ac- 
cepted, as  the  night  was  lovely  for  a  stroll  after  the 
hot  day.  Also  I  was  half  conscious  of  another  un- 
defined purpose  in  my  mind,  which  perhaps  may  have 
spread  to  that  of  Marnham.  Those  two  young  people 
looked  very  happy  together  there  on  the  stoep,  and  as 
they  must  part  so  soon  it  would,  I  thought,  be  kind 
to  give  them  the  opportunity  of  a  quiet  chat. 

So  ofif  we  went  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  on  which  the 
Temple  stood,  whence  old  Marnham  pointed  out  to 
me  a  beacon,  which  I  could  not  see  in  the  dim,  silvery 
bush-veld  below,  and  how  the  line  ran  from  it  to  an- 
other beacon  somewhere  else. 

*'You  know  the  Yellow-wood  swamp,"  he  said.  ''  It 
passes  straight  through  that.  That  is  why  those 
Basutos  who  were  following  you  pulled  up  upon  the 
edge  of  the  swamp,  though  as  a  matter  of  fact,  accord- 
ing to  their  ideas,  they  had  a  perfect  right  to  kill  you 
on  their  side  of  the  line  which  cuts  through  the 
middle." 

I  made  some  remark  to  the  effect  that  I  presumed 
that  the  line  had  in  fact  ceased  to  exist  at  all,  as  the 
Basuto  territory  had  practically  become  British;  after 
which  we  strolled  back  to  the  house.  Walking  quietly 
between  the  tall  rose  hedges  and  without  speaking,  for 
each  of  us  was  preoccupied  with  his  own  thoughts, 
suddenly  we  came  upon  a  very  pretty  scene. 

We  had  left  Anscombe  and  Heda  seated  side  by 
side  on  the  stoep.  They  were  still  there,  but  much 
closer  together.  In  fact  his  arms  were  round  her,  and 
they  were  kissing  each  other  in  a  remarkably  whole- 
hearted way.  About  this  there  could  be  no  mistake, 
since  the  rimpi-strung  couch  on  which  they  sat  was 


THE  STOEP  105 

immediately  under  the  hanging  lamp — a  somewhat 
unfortunate  situation  for  such  endearments.  But 
what  did  they  think  of  hanging  lamps  or  any  other 
lights,  save  those  of  their  own  eyes,  they  who  were 
content  to  kiss  and  murmur  words  of  passion  as 
though  they  were  as  much  alone  as  Adam  and  Eve  in 
Eden?  What  did  they  think  either  of  the  serpent 
coiled  about  the  bole  of  this  tree  of  knowledge  where- 
of they  had  just  plucked  the  ripe  and  maddening 
fruit? 

By  a  mutual  instinct  Marnham  and  I  withdrew 
ourselves,  very  gently  indeed,  purposing  to  skirt  round 
the  house  and  enter  it  from  behind,  or  to  be  seized 
with  a  fit  of  coughing  at  the  gate,  or  to  do  something 
to  announce  our  presence  at  a  convenient  distance. 
When  we  had  gone  a  little  way  we  heard  a  crash  in 
the  bushes. 

^'Another  of  those  cursed  baboons  robbing  the  gar- 
den," remarked  Marnham  reflectively. 

"I  think  he  is  going  to  rob  the  house  also,"  I  re- 
plied, turning  to  point  to  something  dark  that  seemed 
to  be  leaping  up  on  to  the  verandah. 

Next  moment  we  heard  Heda  utter  a  little  cry  of 
alarm,  and  a  man  say  in  a  low  fierce  voice — 
"  So  I  have  caught  you  at  last,  have  I !  " 
"  The  doctor  has  returned  from  his  business  rounds 
sooner  than  was  expected,  and  I  think  that  we  had 
better  join  the  party,"  I  remarked,  and  made  a  bee 
line  for  the  stoep,  Marnham  following  me. 

I  think  that  I  arrived  just  in  time  to  prevent  mis- 
chief. There,  with  a  revolver  in  his  hand,  stood  Rodd, 
tall  and  formidable,  his  dark  face  looking  like  that  of 
Satan  himself,  a  very  monument  of  rage  and  jeal- 
ousy.    There  in  front  of  him  on  the  couch  sat  Heda, 


io6  FINISHED 

grasping  its  edge  with  her  fingers,  her  cheeks  as  pale 
as  a  sheet  and  her  eyes  shining.  By  her  side  was 
Anscombe,  cool  and  collected  as  usual,  I  noticed,  but 
evidently  perplexed. 

"  If  there  is  any  shooting  to  be  done,"  he  was 
saying,  ''  I  think  you  had  better  begin  with  me." 

His  calmness  seemed  to  exasperate  Rodd,  who  hfted 
the  revolver.  But  I  too  was  prepared,  for  in  that 
house  I  always  went  armed.  There  was  no  time  to 
get  at  the  man,  who  was  perhaps  fifteen  feet  away, 
and  I  did  not  want  to  hurt  him.  So  I  did  the  best  I 
could;  that  is,  I  fired  at  the  pistol  in  his  hand,  and  the 
light  being  good,  struck  it  near  the  hilt  and  knocked 
it  off  the  barrel  before  he  could  press  the  trigger,  if  he 
really  meant  to  shoot. 

"  That's  a  good  shot,"  remarked  Anscombe  who 
had  seen  me,  while  Rodd  stared  at  the  hilt  which  he 
still  held. 

"  A  lucky  one,"  I  answered,  walking  forward. 
"  And  now,  Dr.  Rodd,  will  you  be  so  good  as  to  tell 
me  what  you  mean  by  flourishing  a  revolver,  presum- 
ably loaded,  in  the  faces  of  a  lady  and  an  unarmed 
man?" 

"  What  the  devil  is  that  to  you,"  he  asked  furiously, 
"and  what  do  you  mean  by  firing  at  me?" 

"  A  great  deal,"  I  answered,  "  seeing  that  a  young 
woman  and  my  friend  are  concerned.  As  for  firing 
at  you,  had  I  done  so  you  would  not  be  asking  ques- 
tions now.  I  fired  at  the  pistol  in  your  hand,  but  if 
there  is  more  trouble  next  time  it  shall  be  at  the 
holder,"  and  I  glanced  at  my  revolver. 

Seeing  that  I  meant  business  he  made  no  reply,  but 
turned  upon  Marnham  who  had  followed  me. 

"  This  is  your  work,  you  old  villain,"  he  said  in  a 


THE  STOEP  107 

low  voice  that  was  heavy  with  hate.  "  You  promised 
your  daughter  to  me.  She  is  engaged  to  me,  and  now 
I  find  her  in  this  wanderer's  arms." 

"  What  have  I  to  do  with  it?"  said  Marnham.  ''  Per- 
haps she  has  changed  her  mind.  You  had  better  ask 
her." 

"  There  is  no  need  to  ask  me,"  interrupted  Heda, 
who  now  seemed  to  have  got  her  nerve  again.  *'  I 
have  changed  my  mind.  I  never  loved  you.  Dr.  Rodd, 
and  I  will  not  marry  you.  I  love  Mr.  Anscombe  here, 
and  as  he  has  asked  me  to  be  his  wife  I  mean  to  marry 
him." 

"  I  see,"  he  sneered,  "  you  want  to  be  a  peeress  one 
day,  no  doubt.  Well,  you  never  shall  if  I  can  help  it. 
Perhaps,  too,  this  fine  gentleman  of  yours  will  not  be 
so  particularly  anxious  to  marry  you  when  he  learns 
that  you  are  the  daughter  of  a  murderer." 

That  word  was  like  a  bombshell  bursting  among  us. 
We  looked  at  each  other  as  people,  yet  dazed  with 
the  shock,  might  on  a  battlefield  when  the  noise  of 
the  explosion  has  died  and  the  smoke  cleared  away, 
to  see  who  is  still  alive.    Anscombe  spoke  the  first. 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean  or  to  what  you  re- 
fer," he  said  quietly.  "  But  at  any  rate  this  lady  who 
has  promised  to  marry  me  is  innocent,  and  therefore 
if  all  her  ancestors  had  been  murderers  it  would  not 
in  the  slightest  turn  me  from  my  purpose  of  marry- 
ing her." 

She  looked  at  him,  and  all  the  gratitude  in  the 
world  shone  in  her  frightened  eyes.  Marnham 
stepped,  or  rather  staggered  forward,  the  blue  vein 
throbbing  on  his  forehead. 

"  He  lies,"  he  said  hoarsely,  tugging  at  his  long 
white  beard.     "Listen  now  and  I  will  tell  you  the 


io8  FINISHED 

truth.  Once,  more  than  a  year  ago,  I  was  drunk  and 
in  a  rage.  In  this  state  I  fired  at  a  Kaffir  to  frighten 
him,  and  by  some  devil's  chance  shot  him  dead.  That's 
what  he  calls  being  a  murderer." 

''  I  have  another  tale,"  said  Rodd,  '^  with  which  I 
will  not  trouble  this  company  just  now.  Look  here, 
Heda,  either  you  fulfil  your  promise  and  marry  me, 
or  your  father  swings." 

She  gasped  and  sank  together  on  the  seat  as  though 
she  had  been  shot.    Then  I  took  up  my  parable. 

"  Are  you  the  man,"  I  asked,  **  to  accuse  others  of 
crime?  Let  us  see.  You  have  spent  several  months 
in  an  English  prison  (I  gave  the  name)  for  a  crime  I 
won't  mention." 

"  How  do  you  know "  he  began. 

"  Never  mind,  I  do  know  and  the  prison  books  will 
show  it.  Further,  your  business  is  that  of  selling  guns 
and  ammunition  to  the  Basutos  of  Sekukuni's  tribe, 
who,  although  the  expedition  against  them  has  been 
temporarily  recalled,  are  still  the  Queen's  enemies. 
Don't  deny  it,  for  I  have  the  proofs.  Further,  it  was 
you  who  advised  Sekukuni  to  kill  us  when  we  went 
down  to  his  country  to  shoot  the  other  day,  because 
you  were  afraid  that  we  should  discover  whence  he 
got  his  guns."  (This  was  a  bow  drawn  at  a  venture, 
but  the  arrow  went  home,  for  I  saw  his  jaw  drop.) 
"  Further,  I  believe  you  to  be  an  illicit  diamond  buyer, 
and  I  believe  also  that  you  have  again  been  arranging 
with  the  Basutos  to  make  an  end  of  us,  though  of 
these  last  two  items  at  present  I  lack  positive  proof. 
Now,  Dr.  Rodd,  I  ask  you  for  the  second  time  whether 
you  are  a  person  to  accuse  others  of  crimes  and 
whether,  should  you  do  so,  you  will  be  considered  a 
credible  witness  when  your  own  are  brought  to  light?" 


THE  STOEP  109 

"  If  I  had  been  guilty  of  any  of  these  things,  which 
I  am  not,  it  is  obvious  that  my  partner  must  have 
shared  in  all  of  them,  except  the  first.  So  if  you  in- 
form against  me,  you  inform  against  him,  and  the 
father  of  Heda,  whom  your  friend  wishes  to  marry, 
will,  according  to  your  showing,  be  proved  a  gun- 
runner, a  thief  and  a  would-be  murderer  of  his  guests. 
I  should  advise  you  to  leave  that  business  alone,  Mr. 
Quatermain.'* 

The  reply  was  bold  and  clever,  so  much  so  that  I 
regarded  this  blackguard  with  a  certain  amount  of  ad- 
miration, as  I  answered — 

*'  I  shall  take  your  advice  if  you  take  mine  to  leave 
another  business  alone,  that  of  this  young  lady  and  her 
father,  but  not  otherwise." 

"  Then  spare  your  breath  and  do  your  worst ;  only 
be  careful,  sharp  as  you  think  yourself,  that  your 
meddling  does  not  recoil  on  your  own  head.  Listen, 
Heda,  either  you  make  up  your  mind  to  marry  me  at 
once  and  arrange  that  this  young  gentleman,  who  as 
a  doctor  I  assure  you  is  now  quite  fit  to  travel  without 
injury  to  his  health,  leaves  this  house  to-morrow  with 
the  spy  Quatermain — you  might  lend  him  the  Cape 
cart  to  go  in — or  I  start  with  the  proofs  to  lay  a 
charge  of  murder  against  your  father.  I  give  you 
till  to-morrow  morning  to  have  a  family  council  to 
think  it  over.     Good-night.'' 

"  Good-night,"  I  answered  as  he  passed  me,  ''  and 
please  be  careful  that  none  of  us  see  your  face  again 
before  to-morrow  morning.  As  you  may  happen  to 
have  heard,  my  native  name  means  Watcher-by- 
Night,"  and  I  looked  at  the  revolver  in  my  hand. 

When  he  had  vanished  I  remarked  in  as  cheerful 
a  voice  as  I  could  command,  that  I  thought  it  was 


no  FINISHED 

bedtime,  and  as  nobody  stirred,  added,  ''  Don't  be 
afraid,  young  lady.  If  you  feel  lonely,  you  must  tell 
that  stout  maid  of  yours  to  sleep  in  your  room.  Also, 
as  the  night  is  so  hot  I  shall  take  my  nap  on  the  stoep, 
there,  just  opposite  your  window.  No,  don't  let  us 
talk  any  more  now.  There  will  be  plenty  of  time  for 
that  to-morrow." 

She  rose,  looked  at  Anscombe,  looked  at  me,  looked 
at  her  father  very  pitifully;  then  with  a  little  excla- 
mation of  despair  passed  into  her  room  by  the  French 
window,  where  presently  I  heard  her  call  the  native 
maid  and  tell  her  that  she  was  to  sleep  with  her. 

Marnham  watched  her  depart.  Then  he  too  went 
with  his  head  bowed  and  staggering  a  little  in  his 
walk.  Next  Anscombe  rose  and  limped  off  into  his 
room,  I  following  him. 

"  Well,  young  man,"  I  said,  "  you  have  put  us  all 
into  the  soup  now  and  no  mistake." 

''  Yes,  Allan,  I  am  afraid  I  have.  But  on  the  whole 
don't  you  think  it  rather  interesting  soup — so  many 
unexpected  ingredients,  you  see !" 

''  Interesting  soup !  Unexpected  ingredients !"  I  re- 
peated after  him,  adding,  "  Why  not  call  it  hell's 
broth  at  once?" 

Then  he  became  serious,  dreadfully  serious. 

"  Look  here,"  he  said,  ''  I  love  Heda,  and  whatever 
her  family  history  may  be  I  mean  to  marry  her  and 
face  the  row  at  home." 

"  You  could  scarcely  do  less  in  all  the  circumstances, 
and  as  for  rows,  that  young  lady  would  soon  fit  herself 
into  any  place  that  you  can  give  her.  But  the  ques- 
tion is,  how  can  you  marry  her?  " 

"  Oh !  something  will  happen,"  he  replied  optimisti- 
cally. 


THE  STOEP  III 

"  You  are  quite  right  there.  Something  will  cer- 
tainly happen,  but  the  point  is — what?  Something 
was  very  near  happening  when  I  turned  up  on  that 
stoep,  so  near  that  I  think  it  was  lucky  for  you,  or  for 
Miss  Heda,  or  both,  that  I  have  learned  how  to  handle 
a  pistol.  Now  let  me  see  your  foot,  and  don't  speak 
another  word  to  me  about  all  this  business  to-night. 
I'd  rather  tackle  it  when  I  am  clear-headed  in  the 
morning." 

Well,  I  examined  his  instep  and  leg  very  carefully 
and  found  that  Rodd  was  right.  Although  it  still 
hurt  him  to  walk,  the  wound  was  quite  healed  and  all 
inflammation  had  gone  from  the  limb.  Now  it  was 
only  a  question  of  time  for  the  sinews  to  right  them- 
selves. While  I  was  thus  engaged  he  held  forth  on 
the  virtues  and  charms  of  Heda,  I  making  no  com- 
ment. 

"  Lie  down  and  get  to  sleep,  if  you  can,"  I  said 
when  I  had  finished.  "  The  door  is  locked  and  I  am 
going  on  to  the  stoep,  so  you  needn't  be  afraid  of  the 
windows.     Good-night." 

I  went  out  and  sat  myself  down  in  such  a  position 
that  by  the  light  of  the  hanging  lamp,  which  still 
burned,  I  could  make  sure  that  no  one  could  approach 
either  Heda's  or  our  room  without  my  seeing  him. 
For  the  rest,  all  my  life  I  have  been  accustomed  to 
night  vigils,  and  the  loaded  revolver  hung  from  my 
wrist  by  a  loop  of  hide.  Moreover,  never  had  I  felt 
less  sleepy.    There  I  sat  hour  after  hour,  thinking. 

The  substance  of  my  thoughts  does  not  matter, 
since  the  events  that  followed  make  them  superfluous 
to  the  story.  I  wall  merely  record,  therefore,  that 
towards  dawn  a  great  horror  took  hold  of  me.  I  did 
not  know  of  what  I  was  afraid,  but  I  was  much  afraid 


112  FINISHED 

of  something.  Nothing  was  passing  in  either  Heda's 
or  our  room,  of  that  I  made  sure  by  personal  examina- 
tion. Therefore  it  would  seem  that  my  terrors  were 
unnecessary,  and  yet  they  grew  and  grew.  I  felt  sure 
that  something  was  happening  somewhere,  a  dread 
occurrence  which  it  was  beyond  my  power  to  prevent, 
though  whether  it  were  in  this  house  or  at  the  other 
end  of  Africa  I  did  not  know. 

The  mental  depression  increased  and  culminated. 
Then  of  a  sudden  it  passed  completely  away,  and  as  I 
mopped  the  sweat  from  off  my  brow  I  noticed  that  the 
dawn  was  breaking.  It  was  a  tender  and  beautiful 
dawn,  and  in  a  dim  way  I  took  it  as  a  good  omen.  Of 
course  it  was  nothing  but  the  daily  resurrection  of 
the  sun,  and  yet  it  brought  to  me  comfort  and  hope. 
The  night  was  past  with  all  its  fears;  the  light  had 
come  with  all  its  joys.  From  that  moment  I  was 
certain  that  we  should  triumph  over  these  difficulties 
and  that  the  end  of  them  would  be  peace. 

So  sure  was  I  that  I  ventured  to  take  a  nap,  know- 
ing that  the  slightest  movement  or  sound  would  wake 
me.  I  suppose  I  slept  until  six  o'clock,  when  I  was 
aroused  by  a  footfall.  I  sprang  up,  and  saw  before 
me  one  of  the  native  servants.  He  was  trembling  and 
his  face  was  ashen  beneath  the  black.  Moreover  he 
could  not  speak.  All  he  did  was  to  put  his  head  on 
one  side,  like  to  that  of  a  dead  man,  and  keep  on  point- 
ing downwards.  Then  with  his  mouth  open  and 
starting  eyes  he  beckoned  to  me  to  follow  him. 

I  followed. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


RODD  S   LAST   CARD 


The  man  led  me  to  Marnham's  room,  which  I 
had  never  entered  before.  All  I  could  see  at  first, 
for  the  shutters  were  closed,  was  that  the  place 
seemed  large,  as  bed-chambers  go  in  South  Africa. 
When  my  eyes  grew  accustomed  to  the  light,  I 
made  out  the  figure  of  a  man  seated  in  a  chair  with 
his  head  bent  forward  over  a  table  that  was  placed  at 
the  foot  of  the  bed  almost  in  the  centre  of  the  room. 
I  threw  open  the  shutters  and  the  morning  light  poured 
in.  The  man  was  Marnham.  On  the  table  were 
writing  materials,  also  a  brandy  bottle  with  only  a 
dreg  of  spirit  in  it.  I  looked  for  the  glass  and  found 
it  by  his  side  on  the  floor,  shattered,  not  merely 
broken. 

"  Drunk,'*  I  said  aloud,  whereon  the  servant,  who 
understood  me,  spoke  for  the  first  time,  saying  in  a 
frightened  voice  in  Dutch — 

"  No,  Baas,  dead,  half  cold.  I  found  him  so  just 
now." 

I  bent  down  and  examined  Marnham,  also  felt  his 
face.  Sure  enough  he  was  dead,  for  his  jaw  had 
fallen;  also  his  flesh  was  chill,  and  from  him  came  a 
horrible  smell  of  brandy.  I  thought  for  a  moment, 
then  bade  the  boy  fetch  Dr.  Rodd  and  say  nothing  to 
any  one  else.  He  went,  and  now  for  the  first  time  I 
noticed  a  large  envelope  addressed  '*  Allan  Quater- 

113 


114  FINISHED 

main,  Esq."  in  a  somewhat  shaky  hand.  This  I  picked 
up  and  slipped  into  my  pocket. 

Rodd  arrived  half  dressed. 

''What's  the  matter  now?"  he  growled. 

I  pointed  to  Marnham,  saying — 

"  That  is  a  question  for  you  to  answer." 

"  Oh !  drunk  again,  I  suppose,"  he  said.  Then  he 
did  as  I  had  done,  bent  down  and  examined  him.  A 
few  seconds  later  he  stepped  or  reeled  back,  looking 
as  frightened  as  a  man  could  be,  and  exclaiming — 

"  Dead  as  a  stone,  by  God !  Dead  these  three  hours 
or  more." 

''Quite  so,"  I  answered,  "but  what  killed  him?" 

"How  should  I  know?"  he  asked  savagely.  "Do 
you  suspect  me  of  poisoning  him?" 

"My  mind  is  open,"  I  replied;  "but  as  you  quar- 
relled so  bitterly  last  night,  others  might." 

The  bolt  went  home;  he  saw  his  danger. 

"  Probably  the  old  sot  died  in  a  fit,  or  of  too  much 
brandy.  How  can  one  know  without  a  post-mortem? 
But  that  mustn't  be  made  by  me;  I'm  off  to  inform 
the  magistrate  and  get  hold  of  another  doctor.  Let 
the  body  remain  as  it  is  until  I  return." 

I  reflected  quickly.  Ought  I  to  let  him  go  or  not? 
If  he  had  any  hand  in  this  business,  doubtless  he  in- 
tended to  escape.  Well,  supposing  this  were  so  and 
he  did  escape,  that  would  be  a  good  thing  for  Heda, 
and  really  it  was  no  affair  of  mine  to  bring  the  fellow 
to  justice.  Moreover  there  was  nothing  to  show  that 
he  was  guilty;  his  whole  manner  seemed  to  point  an- 
other way,  though  of  course  he  might  be  acting. 

"  Very  well,"  I  replied,  "  but  return  as  quickly  as 
possible." 

He  stood  for  a  few  seconds  like  a  man  who  is  dazed. 


RODD'S  LAST  CARD  115 

It  occurred  to  me  that  it  might  have  come  into  his 
mind  that  with  Marnham's  death  he  had  lost  his  hold 
over  Heda.  But  if  so  he  said  nothing  of  it,  but  only 
asked — 

"Will  you  go  instead  of  me?" 

"  On  the  whole  I  think  not,"  I  replied,  ''  and  if  I 
did,  the  story  I  should  have  to  tell  might  not  tend  to 
your  advantage." 

**  That's  true,  damn  you !"  he  exclaimed  and  left 
the  room. 

Ten  minutes  later  he  was  galloping  towards  Pil- 
grim's Rest.  Before  I  departed  from  the  death  cham- 
ber I  examined  the  place  carefully  to  see  if  I  could 
find  any  poison  or  other  deadly  thing,  but  without  suc- 
cess. One  thing  I  did  discover,  however.  Turning 
the  leaf  of  a  blotting-book  that  was  by  Marnham's 
elbow,  I  came  upon  a  sheet  of  paper  on  which  were 
written  these  words  in  his  hand,  "  Greater  love  hath 
no  man  than  this "  that  was  all. 

Either  he  had  forgotten  the  end  of  the  quotation  or 
changed  his  mind,  or  was  unable  through  weakness  to 
finish  the  sentence.  This  paper  also  I  put  in  my  pocket. 
Bolting  the  shutters  and  locking  the  door  I  returned  to 
the  stoep,  where  I  was  alone,  for  as  yet  no  one  else 
was  stirring.  Then  I  remembered  the  letter  in  my 
pocket  and  opened  it.     It  ran — 

*'  Dear  Mr.  Quatermain, — 

"  I  have  remembered  that  those  who  quarrel  with 
Dr.  Rodd  are  apt  to  die  soon  and  suddenly;  at  any 
rate  life  at  my  age  is  always  uncertain.  Therefore, 
as  I  know  you  to  be  an  honest  man,  I  am  enclosing 
my  will  that  it  may  be  in  safe  keeping  and  purpose  to 
send  it  to  your  room  to-morrow  morning.     Perhaps 


ii6  FINISHED 

when  you  return  to  Pretoria  you  will  deposit  it  in  the 
Standard  Bank  there,  and  if  I  am  still  alive,  forward 
me  the  receipt.  You  will  see  that  I  leave  everything 
to  my  daughter  whom  I  dearly  love,  and  that  there  is 
enough  to  keep  the  wolf  from  her  door,  besides  my 
share  in  this  property,  if  it  is  ever  realized. 

"  After  all  that  has  passed  to-night  I  do  not  feel  up 
to  writing  a  long  letter,  so 

"  Remain  sincerely  yours, 

"  H.  A.  Marnham." 

"  P.  S. — I  should  like  to  state  clearly  upon  paper 
that  my  earnest  hope  and  wish  are  that  Heda  may  get 
clear  of  that  black-hearted,  murderous,  scoundrel  Rodd 
and  marry  Mr.  Anscombe,  whom  I  like  and  who,  I 
am  sure,  would  make  her  a  good  husband." 

Thinking  to  myself  that  this  did  not  look  very  like 
the  letter  of  a  suicide,  I  glanced  through  the  will,  as 
the  testator  seemed  to  have  wished  that  I  should  do. 
It  was  short,  but  properly  drawn,  signed  and  witnessed, 
and  bequeathed  a  sum  of  £9,000,  which  was  on  de- 
posit at  the  Standard  Bank,  together  with  all  his  other 
property,  real  and  personal,  to  Heda  for  her  own  sole 
use,  free  from  the  debts  and  engagements  of  her  hus- 
band, should  she  marry.  Also  she  was  forbidden  to 
spend  more  than  f  1,000  of  the  capital.  In  short  the 
money  was  strictly  tied  up.  With  the  will  were  some 
other  papers  that  apparently  referred  to  certain  prop- 
erty in  Hungary  to  which  Heda  might  become  entitled, 
but  about  these  I  did  not  trouble. 

Replacing  these  documents  in  a  safe  inner  pocket  in 
the  lining  of  my  waistcoat,  I  went  into  our  room  and 
woke  up  Anscombe  who  was  sleeping  soundly,  a  fact 
that  caused  an  unreasonable  irritation  in  my  mind. 


RODD'S  LAST  CARD  117 

When  at  length  he  was  thoroughly  aroused  I  said  to 
him — 

"  You  are  in  luck's  way,  my  friend.  Marnham  is 
dead.'' 

"  Oh !  poor  Heda,"  he  exclaimed,  "  she  loved  him. 
It  will  half  break  her  heart." 

"If  it  breaks  half  her  heart,"  I  replied,  "it  will 
mend  the  other  half,  for  now  her  filial  affection  can't 
force  her  to  marry  Rodd,  and  that  is  where  you  are  in 
luck's  way." 

Then  I  told  him  all  the  story. 

"Was  he  murdered  or  did  he  commit  suicide?"  he 
asked  when  I  had  finished. 

"  I  don't  know,  and  to  tell  you  the  truth  I  don't 
want  to  know;  nor  will  you  if  you  are  wise,  unless 
knowledge  is  forced  upon  you.  It  is  enough  that  he 
is  dead,  and  for  his  daughter's  sake  the  less  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  end  are  examined  into  the  better." 

"Poor  Heda!"  he  said  again,  "who  will  tell  her? 
I  can't.     You  found  him,  Allan." 

"I  expected  that  job  would  be  my  share  of  the 
business,  Anscombe.  Well,  the  sooner  it  is  over  the 
better.  Now  dress  yourself  and  come  on  to  the 
stoep." 

Then  I  left  him  and  next  minute  met  Heda's  fat, 
half-breed  maid,  a  stupid  but  good  sort  of  a  woman 
who  was  called  Kaatje,  emerging  from  her  mistress's 
room  with  a  jug,  to  fetch  hot  water,  I  suppose. 

"  Kaatje,"  I  said,  "  go  back  and  tell  the  Missie  Heda 
that  I  want  to  speak  to  her  as  soon  as  I  can.  Never 
mind  the  hot  water,  but  stop  and  help  her  to 
dress." 

She  began  to  grumble  a  little  in  a  good-natured  way, 
but  something  in  my  eye  stopped  her  and  she  went 


ii8  FINISHED 

back  into  the  room.  Ten  minutes  later  Heda  was  by 
my  side. 

"What  is  it,  Mr.  Quatermain?"  she  asked.  "I 
feel  sure  that  something  dreadful  has  happened."- 

"  It  has,  my  dear/'  I  answered,  "  that  is,  if  death 
is  dreadful.     Your  father  died  last  night." 

"  Oh !"  she  said,  "  oh !"  and  sank  back  on  to  the 
seat. 

"  Bear  up,"  I  went  on,  "  we  must  all  die  one  day, 
and  he  had  reached  the  full  age  of  man." 

''  But  I  loved  him,"  she  moaned.  "  He  had  many 
faults  I  know,  still  I  loved  him." 

"  It  is  the  lot  of  life,  Heda,  that  we  should  lose  what 
we  love.  Be  thankful,  therefore,  that  you  have  some 
one  left  to  love." 

"  Yes,  thank  God !  that's  true.  If  it  had  been  him— 
no,  it's  wicked  to  say  that." 

Then  I  told  her  the  story,  and  while  I  was  doing  so, 
Anscombe  joined  us,  walking  by  aid  of  his  stick.  Also 
I  showed  them  both  Marnham's  letter  to  me  and  the 
will,  but  the  other  bit  of  paper  I  did  not  speak  of  or 
show. 

She  sat  very  pale  and  quiet  and  listened  till  I  had 
done.     Then  she  said — 

*'  I  should  like  to  see  him." 

"  Perhaps  it  is  as  well,"  I  answered.  "  If  you  can 
bear  it,  come  at  once,  and  do  you  come  also,  Ans- 
combe." 

"  We  went  to  the  room,  Anscombe  and  Heda  hold- 
ing each  other  by  the  hand.  I  unlocked  the  door  and, 
entering,  threw  open  a  shutter.  There  sat  the  dead 
man  as  I  had  left  him,  only  his  head  had  fallen  over 
a  little.  She  gazed  at  him,  trembling,  then  advanced 
and  kissed  his  cold  forehead,  muttering — 


RODD'S  LAST  CARD  119 

"  Good-bye,  father.    Oh !  good-bye,  father." 

A  thought  struck  me,  and  I  asked — 

"  Is  there  any  place  here  where  your  father  locked 
up  things  ?  As  I  have  shown  you,  you  are  his  heiress, 
and  if  so  it  might  be  as  well  in  this  house  that  you 
should  possess  yourself  of  his  property." 

*'  There  is  a  safe  in  the  corner,"  she  answered,  "  of 
which  he  always  kept  the  key  in  his  trousers  pocket." 

''  Then  with  your  leave  I  will  open  it  in  your  pres- 
ence." 

Going  to  the  dead  man  I  searched  his  pocket  and 
found  in  it  a  bunch  of  keys.  These  I  withdrew  and 
went  to  the  safe  over  which  a  skin  rug  was  thrown. 
I  unlocked  it  easily  enough.  Within  were  two  bags 
of  gold,  each  marked  fioo;  also  another  larger  bag 
marked  ''  My  wife's  jewellery.  For  Heda  " ;  also  some 
papers  and  a  miniature  of  the  lady  whose  portrait 
hung  in  the  sitting-room;  also  some  loose  gold. 

^' Now  who  will  take  charge  of  these?"  I  asked. 
^'  I  do  not  think  it  safe  to  leave  them  here." 

"  You,  of  course,"  said  Anscombe,  while  Heda 
nodded. 

So  with  a  groan  I  consigned  all  these  valuables  to 
my  capacious  pockets.  Then  I  locked  up  the  empty 
safe,  replaced  the  keys  where  I  had  found  them  on 
Marnham,  fastened  the  shutter  and  left  the  room  with 
Anscombe,  waiting  for  a  while  outside  till  Heda  joined 
us,  sobbing  a  little.  After  this  we  got  something  to 
eat,  insisting  on  Heda  doing  the  same. 

On  leaving  the  table  I  saw  a  curious  sight,  namely, 
the  patients  whom  Rodd  was  attending  in  the  little 
hospital  of  which  I  have  spoken,  departing  towards 
the  bush-veld,  those  of  them  who  could  walk  well  and 
the  attendants  assisting  the  others.    They  were  already 


I20  FINISHED 

some  distance  away,  too  far  indeed  for  me  to  follow, 
as  I  did  not  wish  to  leave  the  house.  The  incident 
filled  me  with  suspicion,  and  I  went  round  to  the  back 
to  make  inquiries,  but  could  find  no  one.  As  I  passed 
the  hospital  door,  however,  I  heard  a  voice  calling  in 
Sisutu — 

"  Do  not  leave  me  behind,  my  brothers." 

I  entered  and  saw  the  man  on  whom  Rodd  had 
operated  the  day  of  our  arrival,  lying  in  bed  and  quite 
alone.  I  asked  him  where  the  others  had  gone.  At 
first  he  would  not  answer,  but  when  I  pretended  to 
leave  him,  called  out  that  it  was  back  to  their  own 
country.  Finally,  to  cut  the  story  short,  I  extracted 
from  him  that  they  had  left  because  they  had  news 
that  the  Temple  was  going  to  be  attacked  by  Sekukuni 
and  did  not  wish  to  be  here  when  I  and  Anscombe 
were  killed.  How  the  news  reached  him  he  refused, 
or  could  not,  say;  nor  did  he  seem  to  know  anything 
of  the  death  of  Marnham.  When  I  pressed  him  on 
the  former  point,  he  only  groaned  and  cried  for  water, 
for  he  was  in  pain  and  thirsty.  I  asked  him  who  had 
told  Sekukuni's  people  to  kill  us,  but  he  refused  to 
speak. 

"  Very  well,"  I  said,  "  then  you  shall  lie  here  alone 
and  die  of  thirst,"  and  again  I  turned  towards  the 
door. 

At  this  he  cried  out — 

"  I  will  tell  you.  It  was  the  white  medicine-man 
who  lives  here;  he  who  cut  me  open.  He  arranged 
it  all  a  few  days  ago  because  he  hates  you.  Last  night 
he  rode  to  tell  the  impi  when  to  come." 

"When  is  it  to  come?"  I  asked,  holding  the  jug 
of  water  towards  him. 

"  To-night  at  the  rising  of  the  moon,  so  that  it  may 


RODD'S  LAST  CARD  121 

get  far  away  before  the  dawn.  My  people  are  thirsty 
for  your  blood  and  for  that  of  the  other  white  chief, 
because  you  killed  so  many  of  them  by  the  river.  The 
others  they  will  not  harm." 

"How  did  you  learn  all  this?"  I  asked  him  again, 
but  without  result,  for  he  became  incoherent  and  only 
muttered  something  about  being  left  alone  because 
the  others  could  not  carry  him.  So  I  gave  him  some 
water,  after  which  he  fell  asleep,  or  pretended  to  do 
so,  and  I  left  him,  wondering  whether  he  was  delirious, 
or  spoke  truth.  As  I  passed  the  stables  I  saw  that  my 
own  horse  was  there,  for  in  this  district  horses  are 
always  shut  up  at  night  to  keep  them  from  catching 
sickness,  but  that  the  four  beasts  that  had  brought 
Heda  from  Natal  in  the  Cape  cart  were  gone,  though 
it  was  evident  that  they  had  been  kraaled  here  till 
within  an  hour  or  two.  I  threw  my  horse  a  bundle  of 
forage  and  returned  to  the  house  by  the  back  entrance. 

The  kitchen  was  empty,  but  crouched  by  the  door  of 
Marnham's  room  sat  the  boy  who  had  found  him 
dead.  He  had  been  attached  to  his  master  and  seemed 
half  dazed.  I  asked  him  where  the  other  servants 
were,  to  which  he  replied  that  they  had  all  run  away. 
Then  I  asked  him  where  the  horses  were.  He  an- 
swered that  the  Baas  Rodd  had  ordered  them  to  be 
turned  out  before  he  rode  off  that  morning.  I  bade 
him  accompany  me  to  the  stoep,  as  I  dared  not 
let  him  out  of  my  sight,  which  he  did  unwillingly 
enough. 

There  I  found  Anscombe  and  Heda.  They  were 
seated  side  by  side  upon  the  couch.  Tears  were  run- 
ning down  her  face  and  he,  looking  very  troubled,  held 
her  by  the  hand.  Somehow  that  picture  of  Heda  has 
always  remained  fixed  in  my  mind.     Sorrow  becomes 


122  FINISHED 

some  women  and  she  was  one  of  them.  Her  beautiful 
dark  grey  eyes  did  not  grow  red  with  weeping;  the 
tears  just  welled  up  in  them  and  fell  like  dewdrops 
from  the  heart  of  a  flower.  She  sat  very  upright  and 
very  still,  as  he  did,  looking  straight  in  front  of  her, 
while  a  ray  of  sunshine,  falling  on  her  head,  showed 
the  chestnut-hued  lights  in  her  waving  hair,  of  which 
she  had  a  great  abundance. 

Indeed  the  pair  of  them,  thus  seated  side  by  side, 
reminded  me  of  an  engraving  I  had  seen  somewhere 
of  the  statues  of  a  husband  and  wife  in  an  old  Egyp- 
tian tomb.  With  just  such  a  look  did  the  woman  of 
thousands  of  years  ago  sit  gazing  in  patient  hope  into 
the  darkness  of  the  future.  Death  had  made  her  sad, 
but  it  was  gone  by,  and  the  little  wistful  smile  about 
her  lips  seemed  to  suggest  that  in  this  darkness  her 
sorrowful  eyes  already  saw  the  stirring  of  the  new  life 
to  be.  Moreover,  was  not  the  man  she  loved  the  com- 
panion of  her  hopes  as  he  had  been  of  her  woes.  Such 
was  the  fanciful  thought  that  sprang  up  in  my  mind, 
even  in  the  midst  of  those  great  anxieties,  like  a 
single  flower  in  a  stony  wilderness  of  thorns,  or  one 
star  on  the  blackness  of  the  night. 

In  a  moment  it  had  gone  and  I  was  telling  them  of 
what  I  had  learned.  They  listened  till  I  had  finished. 
Then  Anscombe  said  slowly — 

"  Two  of  us  can't  hold  this  house  against  an  impi. 
We  must  get  out  of  it." 

"  Both  your  conclusions  seem  quite  sound,"  I  re- 
marked, "  that  is  if  yonder  old  Kaflir  is  telHng  the 
truth.  But  the  question  is — how?  We  can't  all  three 
of  us  ride  on  one  nag,  as  you  are  still  a  cripple." 

"  There  is  the  Cape  cart,"  suggested  Heda. 

*'  Yes,  but  the  horses  have  been  turned  out,  and  I 


RODD'S  LAST  CARD  123 

don't  know  where  to  look  for  them.  Nor  dare  I  send 
that  boy  alone,  for  probably  he  would  bolt  like  the 
others.  I  think  that  you  had  better  get  on  my  horse 
and  ride  for  it,  leaving  us  to  take  our  chance.  I  dare- 
say the  whole  thing  is  a  lie  and  that  we  shall  be  in  no 
danger,'*  I  added  by  way  of  softening  the  suggestion. 

"  That  I  will  never  do,"  she  replied  with  so  much 
quiet  conviction  that  I  saw  it  was  useless  to  pursue  the 
argument. 

I  thought  for  a  moment,  as  the  position  was  very 
difficult.  The  boy  was  not  to  be  trusted,  and  if  I  went 
with  him  I  should  be  leaving  these  two  alone  and,  in 
Anscombe's  state,  almost  defenceless.  Still  it  seemed 
as  though  I  must.  Just  then  I  looked  up,  and  there 
at  the  garden  gate  saw  Anscombe's  driver,  Footsack, 
the  man  whom  I  had  despatched  to  Pretoria  to  fetch 
his  oxen.  I  noted  that  he  looked  frightened  and  was 
breathless,  for  his  eyes  started  out  of  his  head.  Also 
his  hat  was  gone  and  he  bled  a  little  from  his  face. 

Seeing  us  he  ran  up  the  path  and  sat  down  as  though 
he  were  tired. 

"  Where  are  the  oxen  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Oh !  Baas,"  he  answered,  "  the  Basutos  have  got 
them.  We  heard  from  an  old  black  woman  that 
Sekukuni  had  an  impi  out,  so  we  waited  on  the  top  of 
that  hill  about  an  hour's  ride  away  to  see  if  it  was 
true.  Then  suddenly  the  doctor  Baas  appeared  riding, 
and  I  ran  out  and  asked  him  if  it  were  safe  to  go  on. 
He  knew  me  again  and  answered — 

"  '  Yes,  quite  safe,  for  have  I  not  just  ridden  this 
road  without  meeting  so  much  as  a  black  child.  Go 
on,  man;  your  masters  will  be  glad  to  have  their  oxen, 
as  they  wish  to  trek,  or  will  by  nightfall.'  Then  he 
laughed  and  rode  away. 


124  FINISHED 

"  So  we  went  on,  driving  the  oxen.  But  when  we 
came  to  the  belt  of  thorns  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  we 
found  that  the  doctor  Baas  had  either  lied  to  us  or  he 
had  not  seen.  For  there  suddenly  the  tall  grass  on 
either  side  of  the  path  grew  spears;  yes,  everywhere 
were  spears.  In  a  minute  the  two  voorloopers  were 
assegaied.  As  for  me,  I  ran  forward,  not  back,  since 
the  Kaffirs  were  behind  me,  across  the  path,  Baas, 
driving  off  the  oxen.  They  sprang  at  me,  but  I  jumped 
this  way  and  that  way  and  avoided  them.  Then  they 
threw  assegais — see,  one  of  them  cut  my  cheek,  but  the 
rest  missed.  They  had  guns  in  their  hands  also,  but 
none  shot.  I  think  they  did  not  wish  to  make  a  noise. 
Only  one  of  them  shouted  after  me— 

'' '  Tell  Macumazahn  that  we  are  going  to  call  on 
him  to-night  when  he  cannot  see  to  shoot.  We  have 
a  message  for  him  from  our  brothers  whom  he  killed 
at  the  drift  of  the  Oliphant's  River.' 

"  Then  I  ran  on  here  without  stopping,  but  I  saw  no 
more  Kaffirs.     That  is  all.  Baas." 

Now  I  did  not  delay  to  cross-examine  the  man  or 
to  sift  the  true  from  the  false  in  his  story,  since  it  was 
clear  to  me  that  he  had  run  into  a  company  of  Basutos, 
or  rather  been  beguiled  thereto  by  Rodd,  and  lost  our 
cattle,  also  his  companions,  who  were  either  killed  as 
he  said,  or  had  escaped  some  other  way. 

"  Listen,  man,"  I  said.  "  I  am  going  to  fetch  some 
horses.  Do  you  stay  here  and  help  the  Missie  to  pack 
the  cart  and  make  the  harness  ready.  If  you  disobey 
me  or  run  away,  then  I  will  find  you  and  you  will 
never  run  again.     Do  you  understand?" 

He  vowed  that  he  did  and  went  to  get  some  water, 
while  I  explained  everything  to  Anscombe  and  Heda, 
pointing  out  that  all  the  information  we  could  gather 


RODD'S  LAST  CARD  125 

seemed  to  show  that  no  attack  was  to  be  made  upon 
the  house  before  nightfall,  and  that  therefore  we  had 
the  day  before  us.  As  this  was  so  I  proposed  to  go 
to  look  for  the  horses  myself,  since  otherwise  I  was 
sure  we  should  never  find  them.  Meanwhile  Heda 
must  pack  and  make  ready  the  cart  with  the  help  of 
Footsack,  Anscombe  superintending  everything,  as  he 
could  very  well  do  since  he  was  now  able  to  walk  lean- 
ing on  a  stick. 

Of  course  neither  of  them  liked  my  leaving  them, 
but  in  view  of  our  necessities  they  raised  no  objection. 
So  off  I  went,  taking  the  boy  with  me.  He  did  not 
want  to  go,  being,  as  I  have  said,  half  dazed  with  grief 
or  fear,  or  both,  but  when  I  had  pointed  out  to  him 
clearly  that  I  was  quite  prepared  to  shoot  him  if  he 
played  tricks,  he  changed  his  mind.  Having  saddled 
my  mare  that  was  now  fresh  and  fat,  we  started,  the 
boy  guiding  me  to  a  certain  kloof  at  the  foot  of  which 
there  was  a  small  plain  of  good  grass  where  he  said 
the  horses  were  accustomed  to  graze. 

Here  sure  enough  we  found  two  of  them,  and  as 
they  had  been  turned  out  with  their  headstalls  on,  were 
able  to  tie  them  to  trees  with  the  riems  which  were  at- 
tached to  the  headstalls.  But  the  others  were  not  there, 
and  as  two  horses  could  not  drag  a  heavy  Cape  cart, 
I  was  obliged  to  continue  the  search.  Oh!  what  a 
hunt  those  beasts  gave  me.  Finding  themselves  free, 
for  as  Rodd's  object  was  that  they  should  stray,  he 
had  ordered  the  stable-boy  not  to  kneel-halter  them, 
after  filling  themselves  with  grass  they  had  started  off 
for  the  farm  where  they  were  bred,  which,  it  seemed, 
was  about  fifty  miles  away,  grazing  as  they  went.  Of 
course  I  did  not  know  this  at  the  time,  so  for  several 
hours  I  rode  up  and  down  the  neighbouring  kloofs,  as 


126  FINISHED 

the  ground  was  too  hard  for  me  to  hope  to  follow 
them  by  their  spoor. 

At  last  it  occurred  to  me  to  ask  the  boy  where  the 
horses  came  from,  a  question  that  he  happened  to  be 
able  to  answer,  as  he  had  brought  them  home  when 
they  were  bought  the  year  before.  Having  learned  in 
what  direction  the  place  lay  I  rode  for  it  at  an  angle, 
or  rather  for  the  path  that  led  to  it,  making  the  boy 
run  alongside,  holding  to  my  stirrup  leather.  About 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  I  struck  this  path,  or 
rather  track,  at  a  point  ten  or  twelve  miles  away  from 
the  Temple,  and  there,  just  mounting  a  rise,  met  the 
two  horses  quietly  walking  towards  me.  Had  I  been 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  later  they  would  have  passed  and 
vanished  into  a  sea  of  thorn-veld.  We  caught  them 
without  trouble  and  once  more  headed  homewards, 
leading  them  by  their  riems. 

Reaching  the  glade  where  the  other  two  were  tied 
up,  we  collected  them  also  and  returned  to  the  house, 
where  we  arrived  at  five  o'clock.  As  everything 
seemed  quiet  I  put  my  mare  into  the  stable,  slipped 
its  bit  and  gave  it  some  forage.  Then  I  went  round 
the  house,  and  to  my  great  joy  found  Anscombe  and 
Heda  waiting  anxiously,  but  with  nothing  to  report, 
and  with  them  Footsack.  Very  hastily  I  swallowed 
some  food,  while  Footsack  inspanned  the  horses.  In 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  all  was  ready.  Then  suddenly, 
in  an  inconsequent  female  fashion,  Heda  developed  a 
dislike  to  leaving  her  father  unburied. 

"  My  dear  young  lady,"  I  said,  "  it  seems  that  you 
must  choose  between  that  and  our  all  stopping  to  be 
buried  with  him." 

She  saw  the  point  and  compromised  upon  paying 
him  a  visit  of  farewell,  which  I  left  her  to  do  in  Ans- 


RODD'S  LAST  CARD  127 

combe's  company,  while  I  fetched  my  mare.  To  tell 
the  truth  I  felt  as  though  I  had  seen  enough  of  the 
unhappy  Marnham,  and  not  for  £50  would  I  have  en- 
tered that  room  again.  As  I  passed  the  door  of  the 
hospital,  leading  my  horse,  I  heard  the  old  Kaffir 
screaming  within  and  sent  the  boy  who  was  with  me 
to  find  out  what  was  the  matter  with  him.  That  was 
the  last  I  saw  of  either  of  them,  or  ever  shall  see  this 
side  of  kingdom  come.  I  wonder  what  became  of 
them? 

When  I  got  back  to  the  front  of  the  house  I  found 
the  cart  standing  ready  at  the  gate,  Footsack  at  the 
head  of  the  horses  and  Heda  with  Anscombe  at  her 
side.  It  had  been  neatly  packed  during  the  day  by 
Heda  with  such  of  her  and  our  belongings  as  it  would 
hold,  including  our  arms  and  ammunition.  The  rest, 
of  course,  we  were  obliged  to  abandon.  Also  there 
were  two  baskets  full  of  food,  some  bottles  of  brandy 
and  a  good  supply  of  overcoats  and  wraps.  I  told 
Footsack  to  take  the  reins,  as  I  knew  him  to  be  a  good 
driver,  and  helped  Anscombe  to  a  seat  at  his  side, 
while  Heda  and  the  maid  Kaatje  got  in  behind  in  or- 
der to  balance  the  vehicle.  I  determined  to  ride,  at 
any  rate  for  the  present. 

"  Which  way,  Baas  ?"  asked  Footsack. 

"  Down  to  the  Granite  stream  where  the  wagon 
stands,"  I  answered. 

''  That  will  be  through  the  Yellow-wood  swamp. 
Can't  we  take  the  other  road  to  Pilgrim's  Rest  and 
Lydenburg,  or  to  Barberton  ? "  asked  Anscombe  in  a 
vague  way,  and  as  I  thought,  rather  nervously. 

"  No,"  I  answered,  ''  that  is  unless  you  wish  to 
meet  those  Basutos  who  stole  the  oxen  and  Dr.  Rodd 
returning,  if  he  means  to  return." 


128  FINISHED 

"  Oh !  let  us  go  through  the  Yellow-wood/*  ex- 
claimed Heda,  who,  I  think,  would  rather  have  met  the 
devil  than  Dr.  Rodd. 

Ah!  if  I  had  but  known  that  we  were  heading 
straight  for  that  person,  sooner  would  I  have  faced  the 
Basutos  twice  over.  But  I  did  what  seemed  wisest, 
thinking  that  he  would  be  sure  to  return  with  an- 
other doctor  or  a  magistrate  by  the  shorter  and  easier 
path  which  he  had  followed  in  the  morning.  It  just 
shows  once  more  how  useless  are  all  our  care  and  fore- 
sight, or  how  strong  is  Fate,  have  it  which  way  you 
will. 

So  we  started  down  the  slope,  and  I,  riding  behind, 
noted  poor  Heda  staring  at  the  marble  house,  which 
grew  ever  more  beautiful  as  it  receded  and  the  rough- 
ness of  its  building  disappeared,  especially  at  that  part 
of  it  which  hid  the  body  of  her  old  scamp  of  a  father 
whom  still  she  loved.  We  came  down  to  the  glen  and 
once  more  saw  the  bones  of  the  blue  vildebeeste  that 
we  had  shot — oh !  years  and  years  ago,  or  so  it  seemed. 
Then  we  struck  out  for  the  Granite  stream. 

Before  we  reached  the  patch  of  Yellow-wood  forest 
where  I  knew  that  the  cart  must  travel  very  slowly 
because  of  the  trees  and  the  swampy  nature  of  the 
ground,  I  pushed  on  ahead  to  reconnoitre,  fearing  lest 
there  might  be  Basutos  hidden  in  this  cover.  Riding 
straight  through  it  I  went  as  far  as  the  deserted  wagon 
at  a  sharp  canter,  seing  nothing  and  no  one.  Once 
indeed,  towards  the  end  of  the  wood  where  it  was 
more  dense,  I  thought  that  I  heard  a  man  cough  and 
peered  about  me  through  the  gloom,  for  here  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  which  was  getting  low  in  the  heavens, 
scarcely  penetrated.  As  I  could  perceive  no  one  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  must  have  been  deceived 


RODD'S  LAST  CARD  129 

by  my  fancy.  Or  perhaps  it  was  some  baboon  that 
coughed,  though  it  was  strange  that  a  baboon  should 
have  come  to  such  a  low-lying  spot  where  there  was 
nothing  for  it  to  eat. 

The  place  was  eerie,  so  much  so  that  I  bethought 
me  of  the  Kaffirs'  tales  of  the  ghosts  whereby  it  was 
supposed  to  be  haunted.  Also,  oddly  enough,  of  Ans- 
combe's  presentiment  which  he  had  fulfilled  by  killing 
a  Basuto.  Look!  There  lay  his  grinning  skull  with 
some  patches  of  hair  still  on  it,  dragged  away  from 
the  rest  of  the  bones  by  a  hyena.  I  cantered  on  down 
the  slope  beyond  the  wood  and  through  the  scattered 
thorns  to  the  stream  on  the  banks  of  which  the  wagon 
should  be.  It  had  gone,  and  by  the  freshness  of  the 
trail,  within  an  hour  or  two.  A  moment's  reflection 
told  me  what  had  happened.  Having  stolen  our  oxen 
the  Basutos  drove  them  to  the  wagon,  inspanned  them 
and  departed  with  their  loot.  On  the  whole  I  was 
glad  to  see  this,  since  it  suggested  that  they  had  retired 
towards  their  own  country,  leaving  our  road  open. 

Turning  my  horse  I  rode  back  again  to  meet  the 
cart.  As  I  reached  the  edge  of  the  wood  at  the  top 
of  the  slope  I  heard  a  whistle  blown,  a  very  shrill 
whistle,  of  which  the  sound  would  travel  for  a  mile 
or  two  on  that  still  air.  Also  I  heard  the  sound 
of  men's  voices  in  altercation  and  caught  words,  such 

as —  "Let  go,  or  by  Heaven !"  then  a  furious 

laugh  and  other  words  which  seemed  to  be — "  In  five 
minutes  the  Kaffirs  will  be  here.  In  ten  you  will  be 
dead.  Can  I  help  it  if  they  kill  you  after  I  have 
warned  you  to  turn  back?"    Then  a  woman's  scream. 

Rodd's  voice,  Anscombe's  voice  and  Kaatje's 
scream — not  Heda's  but  Kaatje's! 

Then  as  I  rode  furiously  round  the  last  patch  of 


I30  FINISHED 

intervening  trees  the  sound  of  a  pistol  shot.  I  was 
out  of  them  now  and  saw  everything.  There  was  the 
cart  on  the  further  side  of  a  swamp.  The  horses  were 
standing  still  and  snorting.  Holding  the  rein  of  one 
of  the  leaders  was  Rodd,  whose  horse  also  stood  close 
by.  He  was  rocking  on  his  feet,  and  as  I  leapt  from 
my  mare  and  ran  up,  I  saw  his  face.  It  was  horrible, 
full  of  pain  and  devilish  rage.  With  his  disengaged 
hand  he  pointed  to  Anscombe  sitting  in  the  cart  and 
grasping  a  pistol  that  still  smoked. 

**  You  killed  me,"  he  said  in  a  hoarse,  choking  voice, 
for  he  was  shot  through  the  lung,  "  to  get  her,"  and  he 
waved  his  hand  towards  Heda  who  was  peering  at 
him  between  the  heads  of  the  two  men.  "  You  are  a 
murderer,  as  her  father  was,  and  as  David  was  before 
you.  Well,  I  hope  you  won't  keep  her  long.  I  hope 
you'll  die  as  I  do  and  break  her  false  heart,  you 
damned  thief." 

All  of  this  he  said  in  a  slow  voice,  pausing  between 
the  words  and  speaking  ever  more  thickly  as  the  blood 
from  his  wound  choked  him.  Then  of  a  sudden  it 
burst  in  a  stream  from  his  lips,  and  still  pointing  with 
an  accusing  finger  at  Anscombe,  he  fell  backwards  into 
the  slimy  pool  behind  him  and  there  vanished  without 
a  struggle. 

So  horrible  was  the  sight  that  the  driver,  Footsack, 
leapt  from  the  cart,  uttering  a  kind  of  low  howl,  ran 
to  Rodd's  horse,  scrambled  into  the  saddle  and  gal- 
loped off,  striking  it  with  his  fist,  where  to  I  do  not 
know.  Anscombe  put  his  hand  before  his  eyes,  Heda 
sank  down  on  the  seat  in  a  heap,  and  the  colored 
woman,  Kaatje,  beat  her  breast  and  said  something 
in  Dutch  about  being  accursed  or  bewitched.  Luckily 
I  kept  my  wits  and  went  to  the  horses'  heads,  fearing 


RODD'S  LAST  CARD  131 

lest  they  should  start  and  drag  the  trap  into  the 
pool. 

"  Wake  up,"  I  said.  "  That  fellow  has  only  got 
what  he  deserved,  and  you  were  quite  right  to  shoot 
him." 

"  I  am  glad  you  think  so,"  answered  Anscombe  ab- 
sently. ''  It  was  so  like  murder.  Don't  you  remember 
I  told  you  I  should  kill  a  man  in  this  place  and  about 
a  woman?" 

*'  I  remember  nothing,"  I  answered  boldly,  *'  except 
that  if  we  stop  here  much  longer  we  shall  have  those 
Basutos  on  us.  That  brute  was  whistling  to  them  and 
holding  the  horses  till  they  came  to  kill  us.  Pull  your- 
self together,  take  the  reins  and  follow  me." 

He  obeyed,  being  a  skilful  whip  enough  who,  as  he 
informed  me  afterwards,  had  been  accustomed  to 
drive  a  four-in-hand  at  home.  Mounting  my  horse, 
which  stood  patiently  by,  I  guided  the  cart  out  of  the 
wood  and  down  the  slope  beyond,  till  at  length  we 
came  to  our  old  outspan  where  I  proposed  to  turn  on 
to  the  wagon  track  which  ran  to  Pilgrim's  Rest.  I  say 
proposed,  for  when  I  looked  up  it  I  perceived  about 
five  hundred  yards  away  a  number  of  armed  Basutos 
running  towards  us,  the  red  light  of  the  sunset  shining 
on  their  spears.  Evidently  the  scout  or  spy  to  whom 
Rodd  whistled,  had  called  them  out  of  their  ambush 
which  they  had  set  for  us  on  the  Pilgrim's  Rest  road 
in  order  that  they  might  catch  us  if  we  tried  to  escape 
that  way. 

Now  there  was  only  one  thing  to  be  done.  At  this 
spot  a  native  track  ran  across  the  little  stream  and  up 
a  steepish  slope  beyond.  On  the  first  occasion  of  our 
outspanning  here  I  had  the  curiosity  to  mount  this 
slope,  reflecting  as  I  did  so  that  although  rough  it 


132  FINISHED 

would  be  quite  practicable  for  a  wagon.  At  the  top  of 
it  I  found  a  wide  flat  plain,  almost  high-veld,  for  the 
bushes  were  very  few,  across  which  the  track  ran  on. 
On  subsequent  inquiry  I  discovered  that  it  was  one 
used  by  the  Swazis  and  other  natives  when  they  made 
their  raids  upon  the  Basutos,  or  when  bodies  of  them 
went  to  work  in  the  mines. 

"  Follow  me,"  I  shouted  and  crossed  the  stream 
which  was  shallow  between  the  little  pools,  then  led 
the  way  up  the  stony  slope.  The  four  horses  negotiated 
it  very  well  and  the  Cape  cart,  being  splendidly  built, 
took  no  harm.  At  the  top  I  looked  back  and  saw  that 
the  Basutos  were  following  us. 

"  Flog  the  horses !"  I  cried  to  Anscombe,  and  off  we 
went  at  a  hand  gallop  along  the  native  track,  the  cart 
swaying  and  bumping  upon  the  rough  veld.  The  sun 
was  setting  now,  in  half  an  hour  it  would  be  quite 
dark. 

Could  we  keep  ahead  of  them  for  that  half  hour? 


CHAPTER  IX 


FLIGHT 


The  sun  sank  in  a  blaze  of  glory.  Looking  back 
by  the  light  of  its  last  rays  I  saw  a  single  native 
silhouetted  against  the  red  sky.  He  was  standing 
on  a  mound  that  we  had  passed  a  mile  or  more  be- 
hind us,  doubtless  waiting  for  his  companions  whom 
he  had  outrun.  So  they  had  not  given  up  the  chase. 
What  was  to  done?  Once  it  was  completely  dark  we 
could  not  go  on.  We  should  lose  our  way ;  the  horses 
would  get  into  ant-bear  holes  and  break  their  legs. 
Perhaps  we  might  become  bogged  in  some  hollow, 
therefore  we  must  wait  till  the  moon  rose,  which 
would  not  be  for  a  couple  of  hours. 

Meanwhile  those  accursed  Basutos  would  be  follow- 
ing us  even  in  the  dark.  This  would  hamper  them,  no 
doubt,  but  they  would  keep  the  path,  with  which  they 
were  probably  familiar,  beneath  their  feet,  and  what 
is  more,  the  ground  being  soft  with  recent  rain,  they 
could  feel  the  wheel  spoor  with  their  fingers.  I  looked 
about  me.  Just  here  another  track  started  off  in  a 
nor'-westerly  direction  from  that  which  we  were  fol- 
lowing. Perhaps  it  ran  to  Lydenburg;  I  do  not 
know.  To  our  left,  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards 
or  so  away,  the  higher  veld  came  to  an  end 
and  sloped  in  an  easterly  direction  down  to  bush-land 
below. 

Should  I  take  the  westerly  road  which  ran  over  a 

133 


134  FINISHED 

great  plain  ?  No,  for  then  we  might  be  seen  for  miles 
and  cut  off.  Moreover,  even  if  we  escaped  the  natives, 
was  it  desirable  that  we  should  plunge  into  civilization 
just  now  and  tell  all  our  story,  as  in  that  case  we  must 
do.  Rodd's  death  was  quite  justified,  but  it  had  hap- 
pened on  Transvaal  territory  and  would  require  a  deal 
of  explanation.  Fortunately  there  was  no  witness  of 
it,  except  ourselves.  Yes,  there  was  though — the  driver 
Footsack,  if  he  had  got  away,  which,  being  mounted, 
would  seem  probable,  a  man  who,  for  my  part,  I  would 
not  trust  for  a  moment.  It  would  be  an  ugly  thing  to 
see  Anscombe  in  the  dock  charged  with  murder  and 
possibly  myself,  with  Footsack  giving  evidence  against 
us  before  a  Boer  jury  who  might  be  hard  on 
Englishmen.  Also  there  was  the  body  with  a  bullet 
in  it. 

Suddenly  there  came  into  my  mind  a  recollection  of 
the  very  vivid  dream  of  Zikali  which  had  visited  me, 
and  I  reflected  that  in  Zululand  there  would  be  little 
need  to  trouble  about  the  death  of  Rodd.  But  Zulu- 
land  was  a  long  way  off,  and  if  we  were  to  avoid  the 
Transvaal,  there  was  only  one  way  of  going  there, 
namely  through  Swazi-Land.  Well,  among  the  Swazis 
we  should  be  quite  safe  from  the  Basutos,  since  the 
two  peoples  were  at  fierce  enmity.  Moreover  I  knew 
the  Swazi  chiefs  and  king  very  well,  having  traded 
there,  and  could  explain  that  I  came  to  collect  debts 
owing  to  me. 

There  was  another  difficulty.  I  had  heard  that  the 
trouble  between  the  English  Government  and  Cete- 
wayo,  the  Zulu  king,  was  coming  to  a  head,  and  that 
the  High  Commissioner,  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  talked  of 
presenting  him  with  an  ultimatum.  It  would  be  awk- 
ward if  this  arrived  while  we  were  in  the  country, 


FLIGHT  135 

though  even  so,  being  on  such  friendly  terms  with  the 
Zulus  of  all  classes,  I  did  not  think  that  I,  or  any  with 
me,  would  run  great  risks. 

All  these  thoughts  rushed  through  my  brain  while 
I  considered  what  to  do.  At  the  moment  it  was  use- 
less to  ask  the  opinion  of  the  others  who  were  but 
children  in  native  matters.  I  and  I  alone  must  take 
the  responsibility  and  act,  praying  that  I  might  do  so 
aright.  Another  moment  and  I  had  made  up  my 
mind. 

Signing  to  Anscombe  to  follow  me,  I  rode  about  a 
hundred  yards  or  more  down  the  nor'-westerly  path. 
Then  I  turned  sharply  along  a  rather  stony  ridge  of 
ground,  the  cart  following  me  all  the  time,  and  came 
back  across  our  own  track,  my  object  being  of  course 
to  puzzle  any  Kaffirs  who  might  spoor  us.  Now  we 
were  on  the  edge  of  the  gentle  slope  that  led  down  to 
the  bush-veld.  Over  this  I  rode  towards  a  deserted 
cattle  kraal  built  of  stones,  in  the  rich  soil  of  which 
grew  sundry  trees;  doubtless  one  of  those  which  had 
been  abandoned  when  Mosilikatze  swept  all  this  coun- 
try on  his  way  north  about  the  year  1838.  The  way 
to  it  was  easy,  since  the  surrounding  stones  had  been 
collected  to  build  the  kraal  generations  before.  As  we 
passed  over  the  edge  of  the  slope  in  the  gathering 
gloom,  Heda  cried — 

''Look!"  and  pointed  in  the  direction  whence  we 
came.     Far  away  a  sheet  of  flame  shot  upwards. 

"  The  house  is  burning,"  she  exclaimed. 

''  Yes,"  I  said,  ''  it  can  be  nothing  else;"  adding  to 
myself,  ''  a  good  job  too,  for  now  there  will  be  no 
post-mortem  on  old  Marnham." 

Who  fired  the  place  I  never  learnt.  It  may  have 
been  the  Basutos  or  Marnham's  body-servant,  or  Foot- 


136  FINISHED 

sack,  or  a  spark  from  the  kitchen  fire.  At  any  rate  it 
blazed  merrily  enough  nothwithstanding  the  marble 
walls,  as  a  wood-lined  and  thatched  building  of  course 
would  do.  On  the  whole  I  suspected  the  boy,  who  may 
very  well  have  feared  lest  he  should  be  accused  of 
having  had  a  hand  in  his  master's  death.  At  least  it 
was  gone,  and  watching  the  distant  flames  I  bethought 
me  that  with  it  went  all  Heda's  past.  Twenty-four 
hours  before  her  father  was  alive,  the  bond-servant  of 
Rodd  and  a  criminal.  Now  he  was  ashes  and  Rodd 
was  dead,  while  she  and  the  man  she  loved  were  free, 
with  all  the  world  before  them.  I  wished  that  I  could 
have  added  that  they  were  safe.  Afterwards  she  told 
me  that  much  the  same  ideas  passed  through  her  own 
mind. 

Dismounting  I  led  the  horses  into  the  old  kraal 
through  the  gap  in  the  wall  which  once  had  been  the 
gateway.  It  was  a  large  kraal  that  probably  in  bygone 
days  had  held  the  cattle  of  some  forgotten  head  chief 
whose  town  would  have  stood  on  the  brow  of  the  rise; 
so  large  that  notwithstanding  the  trees  I  have  men- 
tioned, there  was  plenty  of  room  for  the  cart  and 
horses  in  its  centre.  Moreover,  on  such  soil  the  grass 
grew  so  richly  that  after  we  had  slipped  their  bits, 
the  horses  were  able  to  fill  themselves  without  being 
unharnessed.  Also  a  little  stream  from  a  spring  on 
the  brow  ran  within  a  few  yards  whence,  with  the 
help  of  Kaatje,  a  strong  woman,  I  watered  them  with 
the  bucket  which  hung  underneath  the  cart.  Next  we 
drank  ourselves  and  ate  some  food  in  the  darkness 
that  was  now  complete.  Then  leaving  Kaatje  to  stand 
at  the  head  of  the  horses  in  case  they  should  attempt 
any  sudden  movement,  I  climbed  into  the  cart,  and 
we  discussed  things  in  low  whispers. 


FLIGHT  137 

It  was  a  curious  debate  in  that  intense  gloom  which, 
close  as  our  faces  were  together,  prevented  us  from 
seeing  anything  of  each  other,  except  once  when  a 
sudden  flare  of  summer  lightning  revealed  them, 
white  and  unnatural  as  those  of  ghosts.  On  our  pres- 
ent dangers  I  did  not  dwell,  putting  them  aside  lightly, 
though  I  knew  they  were  not  light.  But  of  the  alter- 
native as  to  whether  we  should  try  to  escape  to  Lyden- 
burg  and  civilization,  or  to  Zululand  and  savagery,  I 
felt  it  to  be  my  duty  to  speak. 

"  To  put  it  plainly,"  said  Anscombe  in  his  slow  way 
w^hen  I  had  finished,  *'  you  mean  that  in  the  Transvaal 
I  might  be  tried  as  a  murderer  and  perhaps  convicted, 
whereas  if  we  vanish  into  Zululand  the  probability  is 
that  this  would  not  happen.'* 

"  I  mean,"  I  whispered  back,  "  that  we  might  both 
be  tried  and,  if  Footsack  should  chance  to  appear  and 
give  evidence,  find  ourselves  in  an  awkward  position. 
Also  there  is  another  witness — Kaatje,  and  for  the 
matter  of  that,  Heda  herself.  Of  course  her  evidence 
would  be  in  our  favour,  but  to  make  it  understood  by 
a  jury  she  would  have  to  explain  a  great  deal  of  which 
she  might  prefer  not  to  speak.  Further,  at  the  best, 
the  whole  business  would  get  into  the  English  papers, 
which  you  and  your  relatives  might  think  disagreeable, 
especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that,  as  I  understand, 
you  and  Heda  intend  to  marry." 

"  Still  I  think  that  I  would  rather  face  it  out,"  he 
said  in  his  outspoken  way,  "  even  if  it  should  mean 
that  I  could  never  return  to  England.  After  all,  of 
what  have  I  to  be  ashamed  ?  I  shot  this  scoundrel  be- 
cause I  was  obliged  to  do  so." 

"  Yes,  but  it  is  of  this  that  you  may  have  to  con- 
vince a  jury  who  might  possibly  find  a  motive  in 


138  FINISHED 

Rodd's  past,  and  your  present,  relationship  to  the 
same  lady.     But  what  has  she  to  say?" 

''  I  have  to  say,"  whispered  Heda,  "  that  for  my- 
self I  care  nothing,  but  that  I  could  never  bear  to  see 
all  these  stories  about  my  poor  father  raked  up.  Also 
there  is  Maurice  to  be  considered.  It  would  be  terrible 
if  they  put  him  in  prison — or  worse.  Let  us  go  to 
Zululand,  Mr.  Quatermain,  and  afterwards  get  out  of 
Africa.     Don't  you  agree,  Maurice?" 

"What  does  Mr.  Quatermain  think  himself?"  he 
answered.  "  He  is  the  oldest  and  far  the  wisest  of  us 
and  I  will  be  guided  by  him." 

Now  I  considered  and  said — 

"  There  is  such  a  thing  as  flying  from  present 
troubles  to  others  that  may  be  worse,  the  '  ills  we 
know  not  of.'  Zululand  is  disturbed.  If  war  broke 
out  there  we  might  all  be  killed.  On  the  other  hand 
we  might  not,  and  it  ought  to  be  possible  for  you  to 
work  up  to  Delagoa  Bay  and  there  get  some  ship  home, 
that  is  if  you  wish  to  keep  clear  of  British  law.  I 
cannot  do  so,  as  I  must  stay  in  Africa.  Nor  can  I 
take  the  responsibility  of  settling  what  you  are  to  do, 
since  if  things  went  wrong,  it  would  be  on  my  head. 
However,  if  you  decide  for  the  Transvaal  or  Natal 
and  we  escape,  I  must  tell  you  that  I  shall  go  to  the 
first  magistrate  we  find  and  make  a  full  deposition  of 
all  that  has  happened.  It  is  not  possible  for  me  to  live 
with  the  charge  of  having  been  concerned  in  the  shoot- 
ing of  a  white  man  hanging  over  me  that  might  be 
brought  up  at  any  time,  perhaps  when  no  one  was  left 
in  the  country  to  give  evidence  on  my  behalf,  for  then, 
even  if  I  were  acquitted  my  name  would  always  be 
tarnished.  In  Zululand,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are 
no  magistrates  before  whom  I  could  depose,  and  if 


FLIGHT  139 

this  business  should  come  out,  I  can  alwa3^s  say  that 
we  went  there  to  escape  from  the  Basutos.  Now  I 
am  going  to  get  down  to  see  if  the  horses  are  all  right. 
Do  you  two  talk  the  thing  over  and  make  up  your 
minds.  Whatever  you  agree  on,  I  shall  accept  and 
do  my  best  to  carry  through."  Then,  without  waiting 
for  an  answer,  I  slipped  from  the  cart. 

Having  examined  the  horses,  who  were  cropping 
all  the  grass  within  reach  of  them,  I  crept  to  the  wall 
of  the  kraal  so  as  to  be  quite  out  of  earshot.  The 
night  was  now  pitch  dark,  dark  as  it  only  knows  how 
to  be  in  Africa.  More,  a  thunderstorm  was  coming 
up  of  which  that  flash  of  sheet  lightning  had  been  a 
presage.  The  air  was  electric.  From  the  vast  bush- 
clad  valley  beneath  us  came  a  wild,  moaning  sound 
caused,  I  suppose,  by  wind  among  the  trees,  though 
here  I  felt  none;  far  away  a  sudden  spear  of  lightning 
stabbed  the  sky.  The  brooding  trouble  of  nature 
spread  to  my  heart.  I  was  afraid,  and  not  of  our 
present  dangers,  though  these  were  real  enough,  so 
real  that  in  a  few  hours  we  might  all  be  dead. 

To  dangers  I  was  accustomed;  for  years  they  had 
been  my  daily  food  by  day  and  by  night,  and,  as  I 
think  I  have  said  elsewhere,  I  am  a  fatalist,  one  who 
knows  full  well  that  when  God  wants  me  He  will  take 
me;  that  is  if  He  can  want  such  a  poor,  erring  crea- 
ture. Nothing  that  I  did  or  left  undone  could  post- 
pone or  hasten  His  summons  for  a  moment,  though 
of  course  I  knew  it  to  be  my  duty  to  fight  against  death 
and  to  avoid  it  for  as  long  as  I  might,  because  that  I 
should  do  so  was  a  portion  of  His  plan.  For  we  are 
all  part  of  a  great  pattern,  and  the  continuance  or 
cessation  of  our  lives  re-acts  upon  other  lives,  and 
therefore  life  is  a  trust. 


I40  FINISHED 

No,  it  was  of  greater  things  that  I  felt  afraid, 
things  terrible  and  imminent  which  I  could  not  grasp 
and  much  less  understand.  I  understand  them  now, 
but  who  would  have  guessed  that  on  the  issue  of  that 
whispered  colloquy  in  the  cart  behind  me  depended 
the  fate  of  a  people  and  many  thousands  of  lives? 
As  I  was  to  learn  in  days  to  come,  if  Anscombe  and 
Heda  had  determined  upon  heading  for  the  Transvaal, 
there  would,  as  I  believe,  have  been  no  Zulu  war, 
which  in  its  turn  meant  that  there  would  have  been  no 
Boer  Rebellion  and  that  the  mysterious  course  of  his- 
tory would  have  been  changed. 

I  shook  myself  together  and  returned  to  the  cart. 

"  Well,"  I  whispered,  but  there  was  no  answer. 
A  moment  later  there  came  another  flash  of  light- 
ning. 

"  There,"  said  Heda,  "  how  many  do  you  make 
it?" 

"  Ninety-eight,"  he  answered. 

"  I  counted  ninety-nine,"  she  said,  "  but  anyway  it 
was  within  the  hundred.  Mr.  Quatermain,  we  will  go 
to  Zululand,  if  you  please,  if  you  will  show  us  the 
way  there." 

*'  Right,"  I  answered,  "  but  might  I  ask  what  that 
has  to  do  with  your  both  counting  a  hundred?" 

"  Only  this,"  she  said,  "  we  could  not  make  up 
our  minds.  Maurice  was  for  the  Transvaal,  I  was  for 
Zululand.  So  you  see  we  agreed  that  if  another  flash 
came  before  we  counted  a  hundred,  we  would  go  to 
Zululand,  and  if  it  didn't,  to  Pretoria.  A  very  good 
way  of  settling,  wasn't  it  ?  " 

"Excellent!"  I  replied,  "quite  excellent  for  those 
who  could  think  of  such  a  thing." 

As  a  matter  of  fact  I  don't  know  which  of  them 


FLIGHT  141 

thought  of  it  because  I  never  inquired.  But  I  did  re- 
member afterwards  how  Anscombe  had  tossed  with 
a  lucky  penny  when  it  was  a  question  whether  we 
should  or  should  not  run  for  the  wagon  during  our 
difficulty  by  the  Oliphant's  River;  also  when  I  asked 
him  the  reason  for  this  strange  proceeding  he  an- 
swered that  Providence  might  inhabit  a  penny  as  well 
as  anything  else,  and  that  he  wished  to  give  it — I  mean 
Providence — a  chance.  How  much  more  then,  he  may 
have  argued,  could  it  inhabit  a  flash  of  lightning  which 
has  always  been  considered  a  divine  manifestation 
from  the  time  of  the  Roman  Jove,  and  no  doubt  far 
before  him. 

Forty  or  fifty  generations  ago,  which  is  not  long, 
our  ancestors  set  great  store  by  the  behaviour  of  light- 
ning and  thunder,  and  doubtless  the  instinct  is  still 
in  our  blood,  in  the  same  way  that  all  our  existing 
superstitions  about  the  moon  come  down  to  us  from 
the  time  when  our  forefathers  worshipped  her.  They 
did  this  for  tens  of  hundreds  or  thousands  of  years, 
and  can  we  expect  a  few  coatings  of  the  veneer  that 
we  politely  call  civilization,  which  after  all  is  only  one 
of  our  conventions  that  vanish  in  any  human  stress 
such  as  war,  to  kill  out  the  human  impulse  it  seems  to 
hide?  I  do  not  know,  though  I  have  my  own  opinion, 
and  probably  these  young  people  never  reasoned  the 
matter  out.  They  just  acted  on  an  intuition  as  ancient 
as  that  which  had  attracted  them  to  each  other,  namely 
a  desire  to  consult  the  ruling  fates  by  omens  or 
symbols.  Or  perhaps  Anscombe  thought  that  as  his 
experience  with  the  penny  had  proved  so  successful, 
he  would  give  Providence  another  "  chance."  If  so 
it  took  it  and  no  mistake.  Confound  it !  I  don't  know 
what  he  thought;  I  only  dwell  on  the  matter  because 


142  FINISHED 

of  the  great  results  which  followed  this  consultation 
of  the  Sybilline  books  of  heaven. 

As  it  happened  my  speculations,  if  I  really  indulged 
in  any  that  time,  were  suddenly  extinguished  by  the 
bursting  of  the  storm.  It  was  of  the  usual  character, 
short  but  very  violent.  Of  a  sudden  the  sky  became 
alive  with  lightnings  and  the  atmosphere  with  the 
roar  of  winds.  One  flash  struck  a  tree  quite  near  the 
kraal,  and  I  saw  that  tree  seem  to  melt  in  its  fiery  em- 
brace, while  about  where  it  had  been,  rose  a  column 
of  dust  from  the  ground  beneath.  The  horses  were 
so  frightened  that  luckily  they  stood  quite  quiet,  as  I 
have  often  known  animals  to  do  in  such  circumstances. 
Then  came  the  rain,  a  torrential  rain  as  I,  who  was  out 
in  it  holding  the  horses,  became  painfully  aware.  It 
thinned  after  a  while,  however,  as  the  storm  rolled 
away. 

Suddenly  in  a  silence  between  the  tremendous  echoes 
of  the  passing  thunder  I  thought  that  I  heard  voices 
somewhere  on  the  brow  of  the  slope,  and  as  the  horses 
were  now  quite  calm,  I  crept  through  the  trees  to  that 
part  of  the  enclosure  which  I  judged  to  be  nearest  to 
them. 

Voices  they  were  sure  enough,  and  of  the  Basutos 
who  were  pursuing  us.  What  was  more,  they  were 
coming  down  the  slope.  The  top  of  the  old  wall 
reached  almost  to  my  chin.  Taking  off  my  hat  I 
thrust  my  head  forward  between  two  loose  stones,  that 
I  might  hear  the  better. 

The  men  were  talking  together  in  Sisutu.  One, 
whom  I  took  to  be  their  captain,  said  to  the  others — 

"  That  white-headed  old  jackal,  Macumazahn,  has 
given  us  the  slip  again.  He  doubled  on  his  tracks  and 
drove  the  horses  down  the  hillside  to  the  lower  path 


FLIGHT  143 

in  the  valley.    I  could  feel  where  the  wheels  went  over 
the  edge." 

"  It  is  so,  Father,"  answered  another  voice,  "  but 
we  shall  catch  him  and  the  others  at  the  bottom  if  we 
get  there  before  the  moon  rises,  since  they  cannot  have 
moved  far  in  this  rain  and  darkness.  Let  me  go  first 
and  guide  you  who  know  every  tree  and  stone  upon 
this  slope  where  I  used  to  herd  cattle  when  I  was  a 
child." 

''  Do  so,"  said  the  captain.  "  I  can  see  nothing  now 
the  lightning  has  gone,  and  were  it  not  that  I  have 
sworn  to  dip  my  spear  in  the  blood  of  Macumazahn 
who  has  fooled  us  again,  I  would  give  up  the 
hunt." 

"  I  think  it  would  be  better  to  give  it  up  in  any  case," 
said  a  third  voice,  ''  since  it  is  known  throughout  the 
land  that  no  luck  has  ever  come  to  those  who  tried  to 
trap  the  Watcher-by-Night.  Oh !  he  is  a  leopard  who 
springs  and  kills  and  is  gone  again.  How  many  are 
the  throats  in  which  his  fangs  have  met.  Leave  him 
alone,"  I  say,  '' lest  our  fate  should  be  that  of  the 
white  doctor  in  the  Yellow-wood  swamp,  he  who  set 
us  on  this  hunt.  We  have  his  wagon  and  his  cattle; 
let  us  be  satisfied." 

"  I  will  leave  him  alone  when  he  sleeps  for  the  last 
time,  and  not  before,"  answered  the  captain,  "  he  who 
shot  my  brother  in  the  drift  the  other  day.  What 
would  Sekukuni  say  if  we  let  him  escape  to  bring  the 
Swazis  on  us  ?  Moreover,  we  want  that  white  maiden 
for  a  hostage  in  case  the  English  should  attack  us 
again.  Come,  you  who  know  the  road,  and  lead  us." 
There  was  some  disturbance  as  this  man  passed  to 
the  front.  Then  I  heard  the  line  move  forward. 
Presently  they  were  going  by  the  wall  within  a  foot 


144  FINISHED 

or  two  of  me.  Indeed  by  ill-luck  just  as  we  were 
opposite  to  each  other  the  captain  stumbled  and  fell 
against  the  wall. 

"  There  is  an  old  cattle  kraal  here,"  he  said.  "  What 
if  those  white  rats  have  hidden  in  it?" 

I  trembled  as  I  heard  the  words.  If  a  horse  should 
neigh  or  make  any  noise  that  could  be  heard  above 
the  hiss  of  the  rain !  I  did  not  dare  to  move  for  fear 
lest  I  should  betray  myself.  There  I  stood  so  close 
to  the  Kafifirs  that  I  could  smell  them  and  hear  the 
rain  pattering  on  their  bodies.  Only  very  stealthily 
I  drew  my  hunting  knife  with  my  right  hand.  At 
that  moment  the  lightning,  which  I  thought  had  quite 
gone  by,  flashed  again  for  the  last  time,  revealing  the 
fat  face  of  the  Basuto  captain  within  a  foot  of  my 
own,  for  he  was  turned  towards  the  wall  on  which  one 
of  his  hands  rested.  Moreover,  the  blue  and  ghastly 
light  revealed  mine  to  him  thrust  forward  between  the 
two  stones,  my  eyes  glaring  at  him. 

"  The  head  of  a  dead  man  is  set  upon  the  wall ! " 
he  cried  in  terror.     "  It  is  the  ghost  of " 

He  got  no  further,  for  as  the  last  word  passed  his 
lips  I  drove  the  knife  at  him  with  all  my  strength  deep 
into  his  throat.  He  fell  back  into  the  arms  of  his  fol- 
lowers, and  next  instant  I  heard  the  sound  of  many 
feet  rushing  in  terror  down  the  hill.  What  became 
of  him  I  do  not  know,  but  if  he  still  lives,  probably 
he  agrees  with  his  tribesman  that  Macumazahn — 
Watcher-by-Night,  or  his  ghost,  "  is  a  leopard  who 
springs  and  kills  and  is  gone  again";  also  that  those 
who  try  to  trap  him  meet  with  no  luck.  I  say,  or  his 
ghost — because  I  am  sure  he  thought  that  I  was  a 
spirit  of  the  dead;  doubtless  I  must  have  looked  like 
one  with  my  white,  rain-drowned  face  appearing  there 


FLIGHT  145 

between  the  stones  and  made  ghastly  and  livid  by  the 
lightning. 

Well,  they  had  gone,  the  whole  band  of  them,  not 
less  than  thirty  or  forty  men,  so  I  went  also,  back  to 
the  cart  where  I  found  the  others  very  comfortable 
indeed  beneath  the  rainproof  tilt.  Saying  nothing  of 
what  had  happened,  of  which  they  were  as  innocent 
as  babes,  I  took  a  stiff  tot  of  brandy,  for  I  was  chilled 
through  by  the  wet,  and  while  waiting  for  the  moon 
to  rise,  busied  myself  with  getting  the  bits  back  into 
the  horses'  mouths — an  awkward  job  in  the  dark.  At 
length  it  appeared  in  a  clear  sky,  for  the  storm  had 
quite  departed  and  the  rain  ceased.  As  soon  as  there 
was  light  enough  I  took  the  near  leader  by  the  bridle 
and  led  the  cart  to  the  brow  of  the  hill,  which  was 
not  easy  under  the  conditions,  making  Kaatje  follow 
with  my  horse. 

Then,  as  there  were  no  signs  of  any  Basutos,  we 
started  on  again,  I  riding  about  a  hundred  yards  ahead, 
keeping  a  sharp  look-out  for  a  possible  ambush.  For- 
tunately, however,  the  veld  was  bare  and  open,  con- 
sisting of  long  waves  of  ground.  One  start  I  did  get, 
thinking  that  I  saw  men's  heads  just  on  the  crest  of 
a  wave,  which  turned  out  to  be  only  a  herd  of  spring- 
buck feeding  among  the  tussocks  of  grass.  I  was 
very  glad  to  see  them,  since  their  presence  assured 
me  that  no  human  being  had  recently  passed  that 
way. 

All  night  we  trekked,  following  the  Kaffir  path  for 
as  long  as  I  could  see  it,  and  after  that  going  by  my 
compass.  I  knew  whereabouts  the  drift  of  the  Croco- 
dile River  should  be,  as  I  had  crossed  it  twice  before 
in  my  life,  and  kept  my  eyes  open  for  a  certain  tall 
koppie  which  stood  within  half  a  mile  of  it  on  the 


146  FINISHED 

Swazi  side  of  the  river.  Ultimately  to  my  joy  I  caught 
sight  of  this  hill  faintly  outlined  against  the  sky,  and 
headed  for  it.  Half  a  mile  further  on  I  struck  a 
wagon-track  made  by  Boers  trekking  into  Swazi-Land 
to  trade  or  shoot.  Then  I  knew  that  the  drift  was 
straight  ahead  of  us,  and  called  to  Anscombe  to  flog 
up  the  weary  horses. 

We  reached  the  river  just  before  the  dawn.  To 
my  horror  it  was  very  full,  so  full  that  the  drift  looked 
dangerous,  for  it  had  been  swollen  by  the  thunder- 
rain  of  the  previous  night.  Indeed  some  wandering 
Swazis  on  the  further  bank  shouted  to  us  that  we 
should  be  drowned  if  we  tried  to  cross. 

"  Which  means  that  the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  stay 
here  until  the  water  runs  down,"  I  said  to  Anscombe, 
for  the  two  women,  tired  out,  were  asleep. 

"  I  suppose  so,"  he  answered,  *'  unless  those  Basu- 
tos " 

I  looked  back  up  the  long  slope  down  which  we  had 
come  and  saw  no  one.  Then  I  raised  myself  in  my 
stirrups  and  looked  along  another  track  that  joined 
the  road  just  here,  leading  from  the  bush-veld,  as  ours 
led  from  the  high-veld.  The  sun  was  rising  now,  dis- 
persing the  mist  that  hung  about  the  trees  after  the 
wet.  Searching  among  these  with  my  eyes,  presently 
I  perceived  the  light  gleaming  upon  what  I  knew  must 
be  the  points  of  spears  projecting  above  the  level  of 
the  ground  vapour. 

"  Those  devils  are  after  us  by  the  lower  road,"  I 
said  to  Anscombe,  adding,  ''  I  heard  them  pass  the  old 
cattle  kraal  last  night.  They  followed  our  spoor  over 
the  edge  of  the  hill,  but  in  the  dark  lost  it  among  the 
stones." 

He  whistled  and  asked  what  was  to  be  done. 


FLIGHT  147 

"  That  is  for  you  to  decide,"  I  answered.  ''  For 
my  part  Fd  rather  risk  the  river  than  the  Basutos/' 
and  I  looked  at  the  slumbering  Heda. 

"  Can  we  bolt  back  the  way  we  came,  Allan?  " 

*'  The  horses  are  very  spent  and  we  might  meet  more 
Basutos,"  and  again  I  looked  at  Heda. 

"  A  hard  choice,  Allan.  It  is  wonderful  how  women 
complicate  everything  in  life,  because  they  are  life,  I 
suppose."  He  thought  a  moment  and  went  on,  "  Let's 
try  the  river.  If  we  fail,  it  will  be  soon  over,  and  it  is 
better  to  drown  than  be  speared." 

"  Or  be  kept  alive  by  savages  who  hate  us,"  I  ex- 
claimed, with  my  eyes  still  fixed  upon  Heda. 

Then  I  got  to  business.  There  were  hide  riems  on 
the  bridles  of  the  leaders.  I  undid  these  and  knotted 
their  loose  ends  firmly  together.  To  them  I  made  fast 
the  riem  of  my  own  mare,  slipping  a  loop  I  tied  in  it, 
over  my  right  hand  and  saying — 

"  Now,  I  will  go  first,  leading  the  horses.  Do  you 
^  drive  after  me  for  all  you  are  worth,  even  if  they  are 
swept  off  their  feet.  I  can  trust  my  beast  to  swim 
straight,  and  being  a  mare,  I  hope  that  the  horses  will 
follow  her  as  they  have  done  all  night.  Wake  up' 
Heda  and  Kaatje." 

He  nodded,  and  looking  very  pale,  said — 

"  Heda  my  dear,  I  am  sorry  to  disturb  you,  but  we 
have  to  get  over  a  river  with  a  rough  bottom,  so  you 
and  Kaatje  must  hang  on  and  sit  tight.  Don't  be 
frightened,  you  are  as  safe  as  a  church." 

"  God  forgive  him  for  that  lie,"  thought  I  to  my- 
self as,  having  tightened  the  girths,  I  mounted  my 
mare.  They  gripping  the  riem  I  kicked  the  beast  to 
a  canter,  Anscombe  flogging  up  the  team  as  we  swung 
down  the  bank  to  the  edge  of  the  foaming  torrent,  on 


148  FINISHED 

the  further  side  of  which  the  Swazis  shouted  and 
gesticulated  to  us  to  go  back. 

We  were  in  it  now,  for,  as  I  had  hoped,  the  horses 
followed  the  mare  without  hesitation.  For  the  first 
twenty  yards  or  so  all  went  well,  I  heading  up  the 
stream.  Then  suddenly  I  felt  that  the  mare  was  swim- 
ming. 

"  Flog  the  horses  and  don't  let  them  turn,"  I  shouted 
to  Anscombe. 

Ten  more  yards  and  I  glanced  over  my  shoulder. 
The  team  was  swimming  also,  and  behind  them  the 
cart  rocked  and  bobbed  like  a  boat  swinging  in  a  heavy 
sea.  There  came  a  strain  on  the  riem;  the  leaders 
were  trying  to  turn!  I  pulled  hard  and  encouraged 
them  with  my  voice,  while  Anscombe,  who  drove 
splendidly,  kept  their  heads  as  straight  as  he  could. 
Mercifully  they  came  round  again  and  struck  out  for 
the  further  shore ;  the  water-logged  cart  floating  after 
them.  Would  it  turn  over?  That  was  the  question 
in  my  mind.  Five  seconds;  ten  seconds  and  it  was 
still  upright.  Oh!  it  was  going.  No,  a  fierce  back 
eddy  caught  it  and  set  it  straight  again.  My  mare 
touched  bottom  and  there  was  hope.  It  struggled  for- 
ward, being  swept  down  the  stream  all  the  time.  Now 
the  horses  in  the  cart  also  found  their  footing  and  we 
were  saved. 

No,  the  wet  had  caused  the  knot  of  one  of  the  riems 
to  slip  beneath  the  strain,  or  perhaps  it  broke — I  don't 
know.  Feeling  the  pull  slacken  the  leaders  whipped 
round  on  to  the  wheelers.  There  they  all  stood  in  a 
heap,  their  heads  and  part  of  their  necks  above  water, 
while  the  cart  floated  loehind  them  on  its  side.  Kaatje 
screamed  and  Anscombe  flogged.  I  leapt  from  my 
mare  and  struggled  to  the  leaders,  the  water  up  to 


FLIGHT  149 

my  chin.  Grasping  their  bits  I  managed  to  keep  them 
from  turning  further.  But  I  could  do  no  more  and 
death  came  very  near  to  us.  Had  it  not  been  for  some 
of  those  brave  Swazis  on  the  bank  it  would  have  found 
us,  every  one.  But  they  plunged  in,  eight  of  them, 
holding  each  other's  hands,  and  half-swimming,  half- 
wading,  reached  us.  They  got  the  horses  by  the  head 
and  straightened  them  out,  while  Anscombe  plied  his 
whip.  A  dash  forward  and  the  wheels  were  on  the 
bottom  again. 

Three  minutes  later  we  were  safe  on  the  further 
bank,  which  my  mare  had  already  reached,  where  I 
lay  gasping  on  my  face,  ejaculating  prayers  of  thank- 
fulness and  spitting  out  muddy  water. 


CHAPTER  X 

NOMBE 

The  Swazis,  shivering,  for  all  these  people  hate  cold, 
and  shaking  themselves  like  a  dog  when  he  comes  to 
shore,  gathered  round,  examining  me. 

''  Why !"  said  one  of  them,  an  elderly  man  who 
seemed  to  be  their  leader,  "  this  is  none  other  than 
Macumazahn,  Watcher-by-Night,  the  old  friend  of  all 
us  black  people.  Surely  the  spirits  of  our  fathers  have 
been  with  us  who  might  have  risked  our  lives  to  save 
a  Boer  or  a  half-breed."  (The  Swazis,  I  may  explain, 
did  not  like  the  Boers  for  reasons  they  considered 
sound.) 

"  Yes,"  I  said,  sitting  up,  "  it  is  I,  Macumazahn." 

"  Then  why,"  asked  the  man,  *'  did  you,  whom  all 
know  to  be  wise,  show  yourself  to  have  suddenly  be- 
come a  fool?"  and  he  pointed  to  the  raging  river. 

"  And  why,"  I  asked,  "  do  you  show  yourself  a  fool 
by  supposing  that  I,  whom  you  know  to  be  none,  am 
a  fool?    Look  across  the  water  for  your  answer." 

He  looked  and  saw  the  Basutos,  fifty  or  more  of 
them,  arriving,  just  too  late. 

**  Who  are  these?"  he  asked. 

*'  They  are  the  people  of  Sekukuni  whom  you  should 
know  well  enough.  They  have  hunted  us  all  night, 
yes,  and  before,  seeking  to  murder  us;  also  they  have 
stolen  our  wagon  and  oxen,  thirty-two  fine  oxen  which 
I  give  to  your  king  if  he  can  take  them  back.     Now 

150 


NOMBE  151 

perhaps  you  understand  why  we  dared  the  Crocodile 
River  in  its  rage." 

At  the  name  of  Sekukuni  the  man,  who  it  seemed 
was  the  captain  of  some  border  guards,  stiffened  all 
over  like  a  terrier  which  perceives  a  rat. 

"What!"  he  exclaimed,  ''do  these  dirty  Basuto 
dogs  dare  to  carry  spears  so  near  our  country  ?  Have 
they  not  yet  learned  their  lesson?" 

Then  he  rushed  into  the  water,  shaking  an  assegai 
he  had  snatched  up,  and  shouted — 

^'  Bide  a  while,  you  fleas  from  the  kaross  of  Seku- 
kuni, till  I  can  come  across  and  crack  you  between  my 
thumb  and  finger.  Or  at  the  least  wait  until  Macuma- 
zahn  has  time  to  get  his  rifle.  No,  put  down  those 
guns  of  yours;  for  every  shot  you  fire  I  swear  that 
I  will  cut  ten  Basuto  throats  when  we  come  to  storm 
your  koppies,  as  we  shall  do  ere  long." 

"  Be  silent,"  I  said,  "  and  let  me  speak." 

Then  I,  too,  called  across  the  river,  asking  where 
was  that  fat  captain  of  theirs,  as  I  would  talk  with 
him.  One  of  the  men  shouted  back  that  he  had  stopped 
behind,  very  sick,  because  of  a  ghost  that  he  had  seen. 

"  Ah !"  I  answered,  "  sl  ghost  who  pricked  him  in 
the  throat.  Well,  I  was  that  ghost,  and  such  are  the 
things  that  happen  to  those  who  would  harm  Macuma- 
zahn  and  his  friends.  Did  you  not  say  last  night  that 
he  is  a  leopard  who  leaps  out  in  the  dark,  bites  and  is 
gone  again?" 

"  Yes,"  the  man  shouted  back,  ''  and  it  is  true, 
though  had  we  known,  O  Macumazahn,  that  you  were 
the  ghost  hiding  in  those  stones,  you  should  never 
have  leapt  again.  Oh!  that  white  medicine-man  who 
is  dead  has  sent  us  on  a  mad  errand." 

"  So  you  will  think  when  I  come  to  visit  you  among 


152  FINISHED 

your  koppies.  Go  home,  and  take  a  message  from 
Macumazahn  to  Sekukuni,  who  beheves  that  the  Eng- 
lish have  run  away  from  him.  Tell  him  that  they  will 
return  again  and  these  Swazis  with  them,  and  that 
then  he  will  cease  to  live  and  his  town  will  be  burnt, 
and  his  tribe  will  no  more  be  a  tribe.  Away  now, 
more  swiftly  than  you  came,  since  the  water  by  which 
you  thought  to  trap  us  is  falling,  and  a  Swazi  impi 
gathers  to  make  an  end  of  every  one  of  you." 

The  man  attempted  no  answer,  nor  did  his  people  so 
much  as  fire  on  us.  They  turned  tail  and  crept  off  like 
a  pack  of  frightened  jackals — pursued  by  the  mocking 
of  the  Swazis. 

Still  in  a  way  they  had  the  laugh  of  us,  seeing  that 
they  gave  us  a  terrible  fright  and  stole  our  wagon  and 
thirty-two  oxen.  Well,  a  year  or  two  later  I  helped 
to  pay  them  back  for  that  fright  and  even  recovered 
some  of  the  oxen. 

When  they  had  gone  the  Swazis  led  us  to  a  kraal 
about  two  miles  from  the  river,  sending  on  a  runner 
with  orders  to  make  huts  and  food  ready  for  us.  It 
was  just  as  much  as  we  could  do  to  reach  it,  for  we 
were  all  utterly  worn  out,  as  were  the  horses.  Still 
we  did  get  there  at  last,  the  hot  sun  warming  us  as  we 
went.  Arrived  at  the  kraal  I  helped  Heda  and  Kaatje 
from  the  cart — the  former  could  scarcely  walk,  poor 
dear — and  into  the  guest-hut  which  seemed  clean, 
where  food  of  a  sort  and  fur  karosses  were  brought  to 
them  in  which  to  wrap  themselves  while  their  clothes 
dried. 

Leaving  them  In  charge  of  two  old  women,  I  went 
to  see  Anscombe,  who  as  yet  could  not  do  much  for 
himself,  also  to  the  outspanning  of  the  horses  which 
were  put  into  a  cattle-kraal,  where  they  lay  down 


NOMBE  153 

at  once  without  attempting  to  eat  the  green  forage 
which  was  given  to  them.  After  this  I  gave  our  goods 
into  the  charge  of  the  kraal-head,  a  nice  old  fellow 
whom  I  had  never  met  before,  and  helped  Anscombe 
to  another  hut  close  to  that  where  the  women  were. 
Here  we  drank  some  maas,  that  is,  curdled  milk,  ate 
a  little  mutton,  though  we  were  too  fatigued  to  be  very 
hungry,  and  stripping  off  our  wet  clothes,  threw  them 
out  into  the  sun  to  dry. 

"  That  was  a  close  shave,''  said  Anscombe  as  he 
wrapped  himself  up  in  the  kaross. 

"  Very,"  I  answered.  "  So  close  that  I  think  you 
must  have  been  started  in  life  with  an  extra  strong 
guardian  angel  well  accustomed  to  native  ways." 

''  Yes,"  he  replied,  "  and,  old  fellow,  I  believe  that 
on  earth  he  goes  by  the  name  of  Allan  Quatermain." 

After  this  I  remember  no  more,  for  I  went  to  sleep, 
and  so  remained  for  about  twenty-four  hours.  This 
was  not  wonderful,  seeing  that  for  two  days  and  nights 
practically  I  had  not  rested,  during  which  time  I  went 
through  much  fatigue  and  many  emotions. 

When  at  length  I  did  wake  up,  the  first  thing  I  saw 
was  Anscombe  already  dressed,  engaged  in  cleaning 
my  clothes  with  a  brush  from  his  toilet  case.  I  re- 
member thinking  how  smart  and  incongruous  that 
dressing-bag,  made  appropriately  enough  of  crocodile 
hide,  looked  in  this  Kaffir  hut  with  its  silver-topped 
bottles  and  its  ivory-handled  razors. 

"  Time  to  get  up,  Sir.  Bath  ready,  Sir,"  he  said 
in  his  jolly,  drawling  voice,  pointing  to  a  calabash  full 
of  hot  water.    *'  Hope  you  slept  as  well  as  I  did,  Sir." 

"  You  appear  to  have  recovered  your  spirits,"  I  re- 
marked as  I  rose  and  began  to  wash  myself. 

"  Yes,  Sir,  and  why  not  ?    Heda  is  quite  well,  for  I 


154  FINISHED 

have  seen  her.  These  Swazis  are  very  good  people, 
and  as  Kaatje  understands  their  language,  bring  us 
all  we  want.  Our  troubles  seem  to  be  done  with.  Old 
Marnham  is  dead  and  doubtless  cremated;  Rodd  is 
dead  and,  let  us  hope,  in  heaven;  the  Basutos  have 
melted  away,  the  morning  is  fine  and  warm  and  a 
whole  kid  is  cooking  for  breakfast." 

"  I  wish  there  were  two,  for  I  am  ravenous,"  I  re- 
marked. 

''  The  horses  are  getting  rested  and  feeding  well, 
though  some  of  their  legs  have  filled,  and  the  trap  is 
little  the  worse,  for  I  have  walked  to  look  at  them,  or 
rather  hopped,  leaning  on  the  shoulder  of  a  very  sniffy 
Swazi  boy.  Do  you  know,  old  fellow,  I  believe  there 
never  were  any  Basutos;  also  that  the  venerable  Marn- 
ham and  the  lurid  Rodd  had  no  real  existence,  that 
they  were  but  illusions,  a  prolonged  nightmare — no 
more.  Here  is  your  shirt.  I  am  sorry  that  I  have 
not  had  time  to  wash  it,  but  it  has  cooked  well  in  the 
sun,  which,  being  flannel,  is  almost  as  good." 

"  At  any  rate  Heda  remains,"  I  remarked,  cutting 
his  nonsense  short,  *'  and  I  suppose  she  is  not  a  night- 
mare or  a  delusion." 

"  Yes,  thank  God !  she  remains,"  he  replied  with 
earnestness.  "  Oh !  Allan,  I  thought  she  must  drown 
in  that  river,  and  if  I  had  lost  her,  I  think  I  should 
have  gone  mad.  Indeed,  at  the  moment  I  felt  myself 
going  mad  while  I  dragged  and  flogged  at  those 
horses." 

"  Well,  you  didn't  lose  her,  and  if  she  had  drowned 
you  would  have  drowned  also.  So  don't  talk  any 
more  about  it.  She  is  safe,  and  now  we  have  got  to 
keep  her  so,  for  you  are  not  married  yet,  my  boy,  and 
there  are  generally  more  trees  in  a  wood  than  one 


NOMBE  155 

can  see.  Still  we  are  all  alive  and  well,  which  is  more 
than  we  had  any  right  to  expect,  and,  as  you  say,  let 
us  thank  God  for  that." 

Then  I  put  on  my  coat  and  my  boots  which  Ans- 
combe  had  greased  as  he  had  no  blacking,  and  crept 
from  the  hut. 

There,  only  a  few  yards  away,  engaged  in  setting 
the  breakfast  in  the  shadow  of  another  hut  on  a  tanned 
hide  that  served  for  a  tablecloth,  while  Kaatje  saw  to 
the  cooking  close  by,  I  found  Heda,  still  a  little  pale 
and  sorrowful,  but  otherwise  quite  well  and  rested. 
Moreover,  she  had  managed  to  dress  herself  very 
nicely,  I  suppose  by  help  of  spare  clothes  in  the  cart, 
and  therefore  looked  as  charming  as  she  always  did. 
I  think  that  her  perfect  manners  were  one  of  her 
greatest  attractions.  Thus  on  this  morning  her  first 
thought  was  to  thank  me  very  sweetly  for  all  she  was 
good  enough  to  say  I  had  done  for  her  and  Anscombe, 
thereby,  as  she  put  it,  saving  their  lives  several  times 
over. 

"  My  dear  young  lady,"  I  answered  as  roughly  as 
I  could,  ''don't  flatter  yourself  on  that  point;  it  was 
my  own  life  of  which  I  was  thinking." 

But  she  only  smiled  and,  shaking  her  head  in  a 
fascinating  way  that  was  peculiar  to  her,  remarked 
that  I  could  not  deceive  her  as  I  did  the  Kaffirs.  After 
this  the  solid  Kaatje  brought  the  food  and  we  break- 
fasted very  heartily,  or  at  least  I  did. 

Now  I  am  not  going  to  set  out  all  the  details  of  our 
journey  through  Swazi-Land,  for  though  in  some  ways 
it  was  interesting  enough,  also  as  comfortable  as  a 
stay  among  savages  can  be,  for  everywhere  we  were 
kindly  received,  to  do  so  would  be  too  long,  and  I 
must  get  on  with  my  story.    At  the  king's  kraal,  which 


156  FINISHED 

we  did  not  reach  for  some  days  as  the  absence  of 
roads  and  the  flooded  state  of  the  rivers,  also  the 
need  of  sparing  our  horses,  caused  us  to  travel  very 
slowly,  I  met  a  Boer  who  I  think  was  concession 
hunting. 

He  told  me  that  things  were  really  serious  in  Zulu- 
land,  so  serious  that  he  thought  there  was  a  probability 
of  immediate  war  between  the  English  and  the  Zulus. 
He  said  also  that  Cetewayo,  the  Zulu  king,  had  sent 
messengers  to  stir  up  the  Basutos  and  other  tribes 
against  the  white  men,  with  the  result  that  Sekukuni 
had  already  made  a  raid  towards  Pilgrim's  Rest  and 
Lydenburg. 

I  expressed  surprise  and  asked  innocently  if  he  had 
done  any  harm.  The  Boer  replied  he  understood  that 
they  had  stolen  some  cattle,  killed  two  white  men,  if 
not  more,  and  burnt  their  house.  He  added,  however, 
that  he  was  not  sure  whether  the  white  men  had  been 
killed  by  the  Kaffirs  or  by  other  white  men  with  whom 
they  had  quarrelled.  There  was  a  rumour  to  this 
effect,  and  he  understood  that  the  magistrate  of  Bar- 
berton  had  gone  with  some  mounted  police  and  armed 
natives  to  investigate  the  matter. 

Then  we  parted,  as,  having  got  his  concession  to 
which  the  king  Umbandine  had  put  his  mark  when  he 
was  drunk  on  brandy  that  the  Boer  himself  had 
brought  with  him  as  a  present,  he  was  anxious  to  be 
gone  before  he  grew  sober  and  revoked  it.  Indeed, 
he  was  in  so  great  a  hurry  that  he  never  stopped  to  in- 
quire what  I  was  doing  in  Sw^azi-Land,  nor  do  I  think 
he  realized  that  I  was  not  alone.  Certainly  he  w^as 
quite  unaware  that  I  had  been  mixed  up  in  these  Basuto 
troubles.  Still  his  story  as  to  the  investigation  con- 
cerning the  deaths  of  Marnham  and  Rodd  made  me 


NOMBE  157 

uneasy,  since  I  feared  lest  he  should  hear  something 
on  his  journey  and  put  two  and  two  together,  though 
as  a  matter  of  fact  I  don't  think  he  ever  did  either 
of  these  things. 

The  Swazis  told  me  much  the  same  story  as  to  the 
brewing  Zulu  storm.  In  fact  an  old  Induna  or  coun- 
cillor, whom  I  knew,  informed  me  that  Cetewayo  had 
sent  messengers  to  them,  asking  for  their  help  if  it 
should  com^  to  fighting  with  the  white  men,  but  that 
the  king  and  councillors  answered  that  they  had  al- 
ways been  the  Queen's  children  (which  was  not  strictly 
true,  as  they  were  never  under  English  rule)  and  did 
not  wish  to  ''  bite  her  feet  if  she  should  have  to  fight 
with  her  hands."  I  replied  that  I  hoped  they  would 
always  act  up  to  these  fine  words,  and  changed  the 
subject. 

Now  once  more  the  question  arose  as  to  whether  we 
should  make  for  Natal  or  press  on  to  Zululand.  The 
rumour  of  coming  war  suggested  that  the  first  would 
be  our  better  course,  while  the  Boer's  story  as  to  the 
investigation  of  Rodd's  death  pointed  the  other  way. 
Really  I  did  not  know  which  to  do,  and  as  usual  Ans- 
combe  and  Heda  seemed  inclined  to  leave  the  decision 
to  me.  I  think  that  after  all  Natal  would  have  gained 
the  day  had  it  not  been  for  a  singular  circumstance, 
not  a  flash  of  lightning  this  time.  Indeed,  I  had 
almost  made  up  my  mind  to  risk  trouble  and  inquiry 
as  to  Rodd's  death,  remembering  that  in  Natal  these 
two  young  people  could  get  married,  which,  being  in 
loco  parentis,  I  thought  it  desirable  they  should  do  as 
soon  as  possible,  if  only  to  ease  me  of  my  responsi- 
bilities. Also  thence  I  could  attend  to  the  matter  o£ 
Heda's  inheritance  and  rid  myself  of  her  father's  will 
that  already  had  been  somewhat  damaged  in  the  Croc- 


158  FINISHED 

odile  River,  though  not  as  much  as  it  might  have  been 
since  I  had  taken  the  precaution  to  enclose  it  in  Ans- 
combe's  sponge  bag  before  we  left  the  house. 

The  circumstance  was  this:  On  emerging  from  the 
cart  one  morning,  where  I  slept  to  kept  an  eye  upon 
the  valuables,  for  it  will  be  remembered  that  we  had 
a  considerable  sum  in  gold  with  us,  also  Heda's  jewels, 
a  Swasi  informed  me  that  a  messenger  wished  to  see 
me.  I  asked  what  messenger  and  whence  did  he 
come.  He  replied  that  the  messenger  was  a  witch- 
doctoress  named  Nombe,  and  that  she  came  from 
Zululand  and  said  that  I  knew  her  father. 

I  bade  the  man  bring  her  to  me,  wondering  who  on 
earth  she  could  be,  for  it  is  not  usual  for  the  Zulus 
to  send  women  as  messengers,  and  from  whom  she 
came.  However,  I  knew  exactly  what  she  w^ould  be 
like,  some  hideous  old  hag  smelling  horribly  of  grease 
and  other  abominations,  with  a  worn  snake  skin  and 
some  human  bones  tied  about  her. 

Presently  she  came,  escorted  by  the  Swazi  who  was 
grinning,  for  I  think  he  guessed  what  I  expected  to  see. 
I  stared  and  rubbed  my  eyes,  thinking  that  I  must 
still  be  asleep,  for  instead  of  a  fat  old  Isanusi  there 
appeared  a  tall  and  graceful  young  woman,  rather 
light-coloured,  with  deep  and  quiet  eyes  and  a  by  no 
means  ill-favoured  face,  remarkable  for  a  fixed  and 
somewhat  mysterious  smile.  She  was  a  witch-doc- 
toress  sure  enough,  for  she  wore  in  her  hair  the  regu- 
lation bladders  and  about  her  neck  the  circlet  of 
baboon's  teeth,  also  round  her  middle  a  girdle  from 
which  hung  little  bags  of  medicines. 

She  contemplated  me  gravely  and  I  contemplated 
her,  waiting  till  she  should  choose  to  speak.  At  length, 
having  examined  me  inch  by  inch,  she  saluted  by  rais- 


NOMBE  159 

ing  her  rounded  arm  and  tapering  hand,  and  remarked 
in  a  soft,  full  voice — 

"  All  is  as  the  picture  told.  I  perceive  before  me 
the  lord  Macumazahn." 

I  thought  this  a  strange  saying,  seeing  that  I  could 
not  recollect  having  given  my  photograph  to  any  one 
in  Zululand. 

"  You  need  no  magic  to  tell  you  that,  doctoress," 
I  remarked,  ''  but  where  did  you  see  my  picture?'* 

**  In  the  dust  far  away,"  she  replied. 

"  And  who  showed  it  to  you  ?" 

"  One  who  knew  you,  O  Macumazahn,  in  the  years 
before  I  came  out  of  the  Darkness,  one  named  Opener 
of  Roads,  and  with  him  another  who  also  knew  you 
in  those  years,  one  who  has  gone  down  to  the  Dark- 
ness." 

Now  for  some  occult  reason  I  shrank  from  asking 
the  name  of  this  *'  one  who  had  gone  down  to  the 
Darkness,"  although  I  was  sure  that  she  was  waiting 
for  the  question.  So  I  merely  remarked,  without 
showing  surprise — 

"So  ZikaH  still  lives,  does  he?  He  should  have 
been  dead  long  ago." 

"  You  know  well  that  he  lives,  Macumazahn,  for 
how  could  he  die  till  his  work  was  accomphshed? 
Moreover,  you  will  remember  that  he  spoke  to  you 
when  last  moon  was  but  just  past  her  full — in  a  dream, 
Macumazahn.  I  brought  that  dream,  although  you 
did  not  see  me." 

"  Pish !"  I  exclaimed.  "  Have  done  with  your  talk 
of  dreams.     Who  thinks  anything  of  dreams?" 

"  You  do,"  she  replied  even  more  placidly  than  be- 
fore, "  you  whom  that  dream  has  brought  hither — 
with  others." 


i6o  FINISHED 

"  You  lie,"  I  said  rudely.  "  The  Basutos  brought 
me  here." 

"  The  Watcher-by-Night  is  pleased  to  say  that  I  lie, 
so  doubtless  I  do  lie,"  she  answered,  her  fixed  smile 
deepening  a  little.  Then  she  folded  her  arms  across 
her  breast  and  remained  silent. 

"  You  are  a  messenger,  O  seer  of  pictures  in  the 
dust  and  bearer  of  the  cup  of  dreams,"  I  said  with 
sarcasm.  ''  Who  sends  a  message  by  your  lips  for  me, 
and  what  are  the  words  of  the  message?" 

"  My  Lords  the  Spirits  spoke  the  message  by  the 
mouth  of  the  master  Zikali.  He  sends  it  on  to  you  by 
the  lips  of  your  servant,  the  doctoress  Nombe." 

"Are  you  indeed  a  doctoress,  being  so  young?"  I 
asked,  for  somehow  I  wished  to  postpone  the  hearing 
of  that  message. 

''  O  Macumazahn,  I  have  heard  the  call,  I  have  felt 
the  pain  in  my  back,  I  have  drunk  of  the  black  medi- 
cine and  of  the  white  medicine,  yes,  for  a  whole  year. 
I  have  been  visited  by  the  multitude  of  Spirits  and 
seen  the  shades  of  those  who  live  and  of  those  who 
are  dead.  I  have  dived  into  the  river  and  drawn  my 
snake  from  its  mud;  see,  its  skin  is  about  me  now," 
and  opening  the  mantle  she  wore  she  showed  what 
looked  like  the  skin  of  a  black  mamba,  fastened  round 
her  slender  body.  ''  I  have  dwelt  in  the  wilderness 
alone  and  listened  to  its  voices.  I  have  sat  at  the  feet 
of  my  master,  the  Opener  of  Roads,  and  looked  down 
the  road  and  drunk  of  his  wisdom.  Yes,  I  am  in  truth 
a  doctoress." 

"  Well,  after  all  this,  you  should  be  as  wise  as  you 
are  pretty." 

"  Once  before,  Macumazahn,  you  told  a  maid  of  my 
people  that  she  was  pretty  and  she  came  to  no  good 


NOMBE  i6i 

end;  though  to  one  that  was  great.  Therefore  do  not 
say  to  me  that  I  am  pretty,  though  I  am  glad  that 
you  should  think  so  who  can  compare  me  with  so 
many  whom  you  have  known/'  and  she  dropped  her 
eyes,  looking  a  little  shy. 

It  was  the  first  human  touch  I  had  seen  about  her, 
and  I  was  glad  to  have  found  a  weak  spot  in  her  ar- 
mour. Moreover,  from  that  moment  she  was  always 
my  friend. 

''  As  you  will,  Nombe.    Now  for  your  message." 

"  My  Lords  the  Spirits,  speaking  through  Zikali  as 
one  who  makes  music  speak  through  a  pipe  of  reeds, 
say '' 

"  Never  mind  what  the  spirits  say.  Tell  me  what 
Zikali  says,'*  I  interrupted. 

''  So  be  it,  Macumazahn.  These  are  the  words  of 
Zikali :  *  O  Watcher-by-Night,  the  time  draws  on  when 
the  Thing-who-should-never-have-been-born  will  be  as 
though  he  never  had  been  born,  whereat  he  rejoices. 
But  first  there  is  much  for  him  to  do,  and  as  he  told 
you  nearly  three  hundred  moons  ago,  in  what  must 
be  done  you  will  have  your  part.  Of  that  he  will  speak 
to  you  afterwards.  Macumazahn,  you  dreamed  a 
dream,  did  you  not,  lying  asleep  in  the  house  that  was 
built  of  white  stone  which  now  is  black  with  fire?  I, 
Zikali,  sent  you  that  dream  through  the  arts  of  a  child 
of  mine  who  is  named  Nombe,  she  to  whom  I  have 
given  a  Spirit  to  guide  her  feet.  You  did  well  to  fol- 
low it,  Macumazahn,  for  had  you  tried  the  other  path, 
which  would  have  led  you  back  to  the  towns  of  the 
white  men,  you  and  those  with  you  must  have  been 
killed,  how  it  does  not  matter.  Now  by  the  mouth  of 
Nombe  I  say  to  you,  do  not  follow  the  thought  that 
is  in  your  mind  as  she  speaks  to  you  and  go  to  Natal, 


i62  FINISHED 

since  if  you  do  so,  you  and  those  with  you  will  come 
to  much  shame  and  trouble  that  to  you  would  be  worse 
than  death,  over  the  matter  of  the  killing  of  a  certain 
white  doctor  in  a  swamp  where  grow  yellow-wood 
trees.  For  there  in  Natal  you  will  be  taken,  all  of  you, 
and  sent  back  to  the  Transvaal  to  be  tried  before  a 
man  who  wears  upon  his  head  horse's  hair  stained 
white.  But  if  you  come  to  Zululand  this  shadow  shall 
pass  away  from  you,  since  great  things  are  about  to 
happen  which  will  cause  so  small  a  matter  to  be  forgot. 
Moreover,  I  Zikali,  who  do  not  lie,  promise  this: 
That  however  great  many  be  their  dangers  here  in 
Zululand,  those  half-fledged  ones  whom  you,  the  old 
night-hawk,  cover  with  your  wings,  shall  in  the  end 
suffer  no  harm ;  those  of  whom  I  spoke  to  you  in  your 
dream,  the  white  lord,  Mauriti,  and  the  white  lady, 
Heddana,  who  stretch  out  their  arms  one  to  another. 
I  wait  to  welcome  you,  here  at  the  Black  Kloof, 
whither  my  daughter  Nombe  will  guide  you.  Cete- 
wayo,  the  king,  also  v/ill  welcome  you,  and  so  will 
another  whose  name  I  do  not  utter.  Now  choose.  I 
have  spoken.'  " 

Having  delivered  her  message  Nombe  stood  quite 
still,  smiling  as  before,  and  apparently  indifferent  as 
to  its  effect. 

"  How  do  I  know  that  you  come  from  Zikali  ?"  I 
asked.    "  You  may  be  but  the  bait  set  upon  a  trap." 

From  somewhere  within  her  robe  she  produced  a 
knife  and  handed  it  to  me,  remarking — 

*'  The  master  says  you  will  remember  this,  and  by 
it  know  that  the  message  comes  from  him.  He  bade 
me  add  that  with  it  was  carved  a  certain  image  that 
once  he  gave  to  you  at  Panda's  kraal,  wrapped  round 
with  a  woman's  hair,  which  image  you  still  have." 


NOMBE  163 

I  looked  at  the  knife  and  did  remember  it,  for  it 
was  one  of  those  of  Swedish  make  with  a  wooden 
handle,  the  first  that  I  had  ever  seen  in  Africa.  I  had 
made  a  present  of  it  to  Zikali  when  I  returned  to  Zulu- 
land  before  the  war  between  the  Princes.  The  image, 
too,  I  still  possessed.  It  was  that  of  the  woman  called 
Mameena  who  brought  about  the  war,  and  the  wrap- 
ping which  covered  it  was  of  the  hair  that  once  grew 
upon  her  head. 

''  The  words  are  ZikaH's,"  I  said,  returning  her  the 
knife,  "  but  why  do  you  call  yourself  the  child  of  one 
who  is  too  old  to  be  a  father  ?" 

"  The  Master  says  that  my  great-grandmother  was 
his  daughter  and  that  therefore  I  am  his  child.  Now, 
Macumazahn,  I  go  to  eat  with  my  people,  for  I  have 
servants  with  me.  Then  I  must  speak  with  the  Swazi 
king,  for  whom  I  also  have  a  message,  which  I  cannot 
do  at  present  because  he  is  still  drunk  with  the  white 
man's  liquor.  After  that  I  shall  be  ready  to  return 
with  you  to  Zululand." 

"  I  never  said  that  I  was  going  to  Zululand, 
Nombe." 

"  Yet  your  heart  has  gone  there  already,  Macuma- 
zahn, and  you  must  follow  your  heart.  Does  not  the 
image  which  was  carved  with  the  knife  you  gave,  hold 
a  white  heart  in  its  hand,  and  although  it  seems  to  be 
but  a  bit  of  Umzimbeete  w^ood,  is  it  not  alive  and  be- 
witched, which  perhaps  is  why  you  could  never  make 
up  your  mind  to  burn  it,  Macumazahn?" 

"  I  wish  I  had,"  I  replied  angrily;  but  having  thrown 
this  last  spear,  with  a  flash  of  her  unholy  eyes  Nombe 
had  turned  and  gone. 

A  clever  woman  and  thoroughly  coached,  thought 
I.     Well,  Zikali  was  never  one  to  suffer  fools,  and 


i64  FINISHED 

doubtless  she  is  another  of  the  pawns  whom  he  uses 
on  his  board  of  pohcy.  Oh!  she,  or  rather  he  was 
right ;  my  heart  was  in  Zululand,  though  not  in  the  way 
he  thought,  and  I  longed  to  see  the  end  of  that  great 
game  played  by  a  wizard  against  a  despot  and  his 
hosts. 

So  we  went  to  Zululand  because  after  talking  it  over 
we  all  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this  was  the  best 
thing  to  do,  especially  as  there  we  seemed  to  be  sure 
of  a  welcome.  For  later  in  the  day  Nombe  repeated 
to  Anscombe  and  Heda  the  invitation  which  she  had 
delivered  to  me,  assuring  them  also  that  in  Zululand 
they  would  come  to  no  harm. 

It  was  curious  to  watch  the  meeting  between  Heda 
and  Nombe.  The  doctoress  appeared  just  as  we  had 
risen  from  breakfast,  and  Heda,  turning  round,  came 
face  to  face  with  her. 

"Is  this  your  witch,  Mr.  Quatermain?''  she  asked 
me  in  her  vivacious  way.  "  Why,  she  is  different  from 
what  I  expected,  quite  good-looking  and,  yes,  im- 
pressive. I  am  not  sure  that  she  does  not  frighten  me 
a  little." 

**  What  does  the  Inkosikaasi  (i.e.,  the  chieftainess) 
say  concerning  me,  Macumazahn?"  asked  Nombe. 

"  Only  what  I  said,  that  you  are  young  who  she 
thought  would  be  old,  and  pretty  who  she  thought 
would  be  ugly." 

"  To  grow  old  we  must  first  be  young,  Macumazahn, 
and  in  due  season  all  of  us  will  become  ugly  even  the 
Inkosikaasi.  But  I  thought  she  said  also  that  she 
feared  me." 

"  Do  you  know  English,  Nombe?" 

"  Nay,  but  I  know  how  to  read  eyes,  and  the  Inkosi- 
kaasi has  eyes  that  talk.     Tell  her  that  she  has  no 


NOMBfi  165 

reason  to  fear  me  who  would  be  her  friend,  though  I 
think  that  she  will  bring  me  little  luck." 

It  was  scarcely  necessary  so  far  as  Heda  was  con- 
cerned, but  I  translated,  leaving  out  the  last  sentence. 

*'  Say  to  her  that  I  am  grateful  who  have  few 
friends,  and  that  I  will  fear  her  no  more,"  said  Heda. 

Again  I  translated,  whereon  Nombe  stretched  out 
her  hand,  saying — 

"  Let  her  not  scorn  to  take  it,  it  is  clean.     It  has 

brought  no  man  to  his  death "     Here  she  looked 

at  Heda  meaningly.  "  Moreover,  though  she  is  white 
and  I  am  black,  I  like  herself  am  of  high  blood  and 
come  of  a  race  of  warriors  who  did  nothing  small,  and 
lastly,  we  are  of  an  age,  and  if  she  is  beautiful,  I  am 
wise  and  have  gifts  great  as  her  own." 

Once  more  I  interpreted  for  the  benefit  of  Ans- 
combe,  for  Heda  understood  Zulu  well  enough,  al- 
though she  had  pretended  not  to  do  so,  after  which  the 
two  shook  hands,  to  Anscombe's  amusement  and  my 
wonder.  For  I  felt  this  scene  to  be  strained  and  one 
that  hid,  or  presaged,  something  I  did  not  compre- 
hend. 

"  This  is  the  Chief  she  loves  ?"  said  Nombe  to  me, 
studying  Anscombe  with  her  steady  eyes  after  Heda 
had  gone.  "  Well,  he  is  no  common  man  and  brave, 
if  idle;  one,  too,  who  may  grow  tall  in  the  w^orld, 
should  he  live,  when  he  has  learned  to  think.  But, 
Macumazahn,  if  she  met  you  both  at  the  same  time 
why  did  she  not  choose  you?" 

"  Just  now  you  said  you  were  wise,  Nombe,"  I  re- 
plied laughing,  "  but  now  I  see  that,  like  most  of  your 
trade,  you  are  but  a  vain  boaster.  Is  there  a  hat  upon 
my  head  that  you  cannot  see  the  colour  of  my  hair, 
and  is  it  natural  that  youth  should  turn  to  age?" 


i66  FINISHED 

"  Sometimes  if  the  mind  is  old,  Macumazahn,  which 
is  why  I  love  the  Spirits  only  who  are  more  ancient 
than  the  mountains,  and  with  them  Zikali  their  servant, 
who  was  young  before  the  Zulus  were  a  people,  or  so 
he  says,  and  still  year  by  year  gathers  wisdom  as  the 
bee  gathers  honey.  Inspan  your  horses,  Macumazahn, 
for  I  have  done  my  business  and  am  ready  to  start." 


CHAPTER  XI 

ZIKALI 

Ten  days  had  gone  by  when  once  more  I  found 
myself  drawing  near  to  the  mouth  of  the  Black  Kloof 
where  dwelt  Zikali  the  wizard.  Our  journey  in 
Zululand  had  been  tedious  and  uneventful.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  we  met  extraordinarily  few  peo- 
ple; it  was  as  though  the  place  had  suddenly  become 
depopulated,  and  I  even  passed  great  kraals  where 
there  was  no  one  to  be  seen.  I  asked  Nombe  what  was 
the  meaning  of  this,  for  she  and  three  silent  men  she 
had  with  her  were  acting  as  our  guides.  Once  she 
answered  that  the  people  had  moved  because  of  lack 
of  food,  as  the  season  had  been  one  of  great  scarcity 
owing  to  drought,  and  once  that  they  had  been  sum- 
moned to  a  gathering  at  the  king's  kraal  near  Ulundi. 
At  any  rate  they  were  not  there,  and  the  few  who  did 
appear  stared  at  us  strangely. 

Moreover,  I  noticed  that  they  were  not  allowed  to 
speak  to  us.  Also  Heda  was  kept  in  the  cart  and 
Nombe  insisted  that  the  rear  canvas  curtain  should 
be  closed  and  a  blanket  fastened  behind  Anscombe  who 
drove,  evidently  with  the  object  that  she  should  not  be 
seen.  Further,  on  the  plea  of  weariness,  from  the  time 
that  we  entered  Zulu  territory  Nombe  asked  to  be  al- 
lowed to  ride  in  the  cart  with  Kaatje  and  Heda,  her 
real  reason,  as  I  was  sure,  being  that  she  might  keep 
a  watch  upon  them.  Lastly  we  travelled  by  little-fre- 
quented   tracks,    halting   at    night   in    out-of-the-way 

167 


1 68  FINISHED 

places,  where,  however,  we  always  found  food  await- 
ing us,  doubtless  by  arrangement. 

With  one  man  whom  I  had  known  in  past  days  and 
who  recognized  me,  I  did  manage  to  have  a  short  talk. 
He  asked  me  what  I  was  doing  in  Zululand  at  that 
time.  I  replied  that  I  was  on  a  visit  to  Zikali,  whereon 
he  said  that  I  should  be  safer  with  him  than  with  any 
one  else. 

Our  conversation  went  no  further,  for  just  then  one 
of  Nombe's  servants  appeared  and  made  some  re- 
mark to  the  man  of  which  I  could  not  catch  the  mean- 
ing, whereon  he  promptly  turned  and  departed,  leav- 
ing me  wondering  and  uneasy. 

Evidently  we  were  being  isolated,  but  when  I  remon- 
strated with  Nombe  she  only  answered  with  her  most 
unfathomable  smile — 

"  O  Macumazahn,  you  must  ask  ZikaH  of  all  these 
things.  I  am  no  one  and  know  nothing,  who  only  do 
what  the  Master  tells  me  is  for  your  good." 

'*  I  am  minded  to  turn  and  depart  from  Zululand," 
I  said  angrily,  "  for  in  this  low  veld  whither  you  have 
led  us  there  is  fever  and  the  horses  will  catch  sickness 
or  be  bitten  by  the  tsetse  fly  and  perish." 

"  I  cannot  say,  Macumazahn,  who  only  travel  by 
the  road  the  Master  pointed  out.  Yet  if  you  will  be 
guided  by  me,  you  will  not  try  to  leave  Zululand." 

"  You  mean  that  I  am  in  a  trap,  Nombe." 

"  I  mean  that  the  country  is  full  of  soldiers  and 
that  all  white  men  have  fled  from  it.  Therefore,  even 
if  you  were  allowed  to  pass  because  the  Zulus  love 
you,  Macumazahn,  it  might  well  happen  that  those 
with  you  would  stay  behind,  sound  asleep,  Macuma- 
zahn, for  which,  like  you,  I  should  be  sorry." 

After  this  I  said  no  more,  for  I  knew  that  she  meant 


ZIKALI  169 

to  warn  me.     We  had  entered  on  this  business  and 
must  see  it  through  to  its  end,  sweet  or  bitter. 

As  for  Anscombe  and  Heda  their  happiness  seemed 
to  be  complete.  The  novelty  of  the  life  charmed  them, 
and  of  its  dangers  they  took  no  thought,  being  con- 
tent to  leave  me,  in  whom  they  had  a  blind  faith,  to 
manage  everything.  Moreover,  Heda,  who  in  the  joy 
of  her  love  was  beginning  to  forget  the  sorrow  of  her 
father's  death  and  the  other  tragic  events  through 
which  she  had  just  passed,  took  a  great  fancy  to  the 
young  witch-doctoress  who  conversed  with  her  in  Zulu, 
a  language  of  which,  having  lived  so  long  in  Natal, 
Heda  knew  much  already.  Indeed,  when  I  suggested 
to  her  that  to  be  over-trusting  was  not  wise,  she  fired 
up  and  replied  that  she  had  been  accustomed  to  natives 
all  her  life  and  could  judge  them,  adding  that  she  had 
every  confidence  in  Nombe. 

After  this  I  held  my  tongue  and  said  no  more  of 
my  doubts.  What  was  the  use  since  Heda  would  not 
listen  to  them,  and  at  that  time  Anscombe  was  noth- 
ing but  her  echo? 

So  this,  for  me,  very  dull  journey  continued,  till  at 
length,  after  being  held  up  for  a  couple  of  days  by  a 
flooded  river  where  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  sit 
and  smoke,  as  Nombe  requested  me  not  to  make  a 
noise  by  shooting  at  the  big  game  that  abounded,  we 
began  to  emerge  from  the  bush-veld  on  to  the  lovely 
uplands  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Nongoma.  Leaving 
these  on  our  right  we  headed  for  a  place  called  Ceza,  a 
natural  stronghold  consisting  of  a  flat  plain  on  the  top 
of  a  mountain,  which  plain  is  surrounded  by  bush.  It 
is  at  the  foot  of  this  stronghold  that  the  Black  Kloof 
lies,  being  one  of  the  ravines  that  run  up  into  the 
mountain. 


I70  FINISHED 

So  thither  we  came  at  last.  It  was  drawing  to- 
wards sunset,  a  tremendous  and  stormy  sunset,  as  we 
approached  the  place,  and  lo!  it  looked  exactly  as  it 
had  done  when  first  I  saw  it  more  than  a  score  of 
years  before,  forbidding  as  the  mouth  of  hell,  vast  and 
lonesome.  There  stood  the  columns  of  boulders  fan- 
tastically piled  one  upon  another;  there  grew  the  sparse 
trees  upon  its  steep  sides,  mingled  with  aloes  that 
looked  like  the  shapes  of  men;  there  was  the  granite 
bottom  swept  almost  clean  by  floods  in  some  dim  age, 
and  the  little  stream  that  flowed  along  it.  There,  too, 
was  the  spot  where  once  I  had  outspanned  my  wagons 
on  the  night  when  my  servants  swore  that  they  saw 
the  Imikovu,  or  wizard-raised  spectres,  floating  past 
them  on  the  air  in  the  shapes  of  the  Princes  and  others 
who  were  soon  to  fall  at  the  battle  of  the  Tugela.  Up 
it  we  went,  I  riding  and  Nombe,  who  had  descended 
from  the  cart  that  followed,  walking  by  my  side  and 
watching  me. 

"  You  seem  sad,  Macumazahn,"  she  said  at  length. 

"  Yes,  Nombe,  I  am  sad.  This  place  makes  me 
so." 

"  Is  it  the  place,  Macumazahn,  or  is  it  the  thought 
of  one  whom  once  you  met  in  the  place,  one  who  is 
dead?" 

I  looked  at  her,  pretending  not  to  understand,  and 
she  went  on — 

'*  I  have  the  gift  of  vision,  Macumazahn,  which 
comes  at  times  to  those  of  my  trade,  and  now  and 
again,  amongst  others,  I  have  seemed  to  see  the  spirit 
of  a  certain  woman  haunting  this  kloof  as  though  she 
were  waiting  for  some  one." 

"  Indeed,  and  what  may  that  woman  be  like  ?"  I 
inquired  carelessly. 


ZIKALI  171 

"  As  it  chances  I  can  see  her  now  gliding  backwards 
in  front  of  you  just  there,  and  therefore  am  able  to 
answer  your  question,  Macumazahn.  She  is  tall  and 
slender,  beautifully  made,  and  light-coloured  for  one 
of  us  black  people.  She  has  large  eyes  like  a  buck, 
and  those  eyes  are  full  of  fire  that  does  not  come  from 
the  sun  but  from  within.  Her  face  is  tender  yet  proud, 
'oh!  so  proud  that  she  makes  me  afraid.  She  wears 
a  cloak  of  grey  fur,  and  about  her  neck  there  is  a 
circlet  of  big  blue  beads  with  which  her  fingers  play. 
A  thought  comes  from  her  to  me.  These  are  the 
words  of  the  thought :  '  I  have  waited  long  in  this  dark 
place,  watching  by  day  and  night  till  you,  the  Watcher- 
by-Night,  return  to  meet  me  here.  At  length  you  have 
come,  and  in  this  enchanted  place  my  hungry  spirit 
can  feed  upon  your  spirit  for  a  while.  I  thank  you 
for  coming,  who  now  am  no  more  lonely.  Fear  noth- 
ing, Macumazahn,  for  by  a  certain  kiss  I  swear  to 
you  that  till  the  appointed  hour  when  you  become  as 
I  am,  I  will  be  a  shield  upon  your  arm  and  a  spear  in 
your  hand.'  Such  are  the  words  of  her  thought, 
Macumazahn,  but  she  has  gone  away  and  I  hear  no 
more.  It  was  as  though  your  horse  rode  over  her 
and  she  passed  through  you." 

Then,  like  one  who  wished  to  answer  no  questions, 
Nombe  turned  and  went  back  to  the  cart,  where 
she  began  to  talk  indifferently  with  Heda,  for  as  soon 
as  we  entered  the  kloof  her  servants  had  drawn  back 
the  curtains  and  let  fall  the  blanket.  i\s  for  me,  I 
groaned,  for  of  course  I  knew  that  Zikali,  who  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  appearance  of  Mameena,  had 
instructed  Nombe  to  say  all  this  to  me  in  order  to  im- 
press my  mind  for  some  reason  of  his  own.  Yet  he 
had  done  it  cleverly,  for  such  words  as  those  Mameena 


172  FINISHED 

might  well  have  uttered  could  her  great  spirit  have 
returned  to  walk  the  earth  again.  Was  such  a  thing 
possible,  I  wondered?  No,  it  was  not  possible,  yet  it 
was  true  that  her  atmosphere  seemed  to  cling  about 
this  place  and  that  my  imagination,  excited  by  memory 
and  Nombe's  suggestions,  seemed  to  apprehend  her 
presence. 

As  I  reflected  the  horse  advanced  round  the  little 
bend  in  the  ever-narrowing  cliffs,  and  there  in  front 
of  me,  under  the  gigantic  mass  of  overhanging  rock, 
appeared  the  kraal  of  Zikali  surrounded  by  its  reed 
fence.  The  gate  of  the  fence  was  open,  and  beyond 
it,  on  his  stool  in  front  of  the  large  hut,  sat  Zikali. 
Even  from  that  distance  it  was  impossible  to  mistake 
his  figure,  which  was  like  no  other  that  I  had  known 
in  the  world.  A  broad-shouldered  dvv^arf  with  a  huge 
head,  deep,  sunken  eyes  and  snowy  hair  that  hung  upon 
his  shoulders;  the  whole  frame  and  face  pervaded 
with  an  air  of  great  antiquity,  and  yet  owing  to  the 
plumpness  of  the  flesh  and  that  freshness  of  skin  which 
is  sometimes  seen  in  the  aged,  comparatively  young- 
looking. 

Such  was  the  great  wizard  Zikali,  known  throughout 
the  land  for  longer  than  any  living  man  could  remem- 
ber as  "  Opener  of  Roads,'*  a  title  that  referred  to  his 
powers  of  spiritual  vision,  also  as  the  "Thing-that- 
should-never-have-been-born,"  a  name  given  to  him  by 
Chaka,  the  first  and  greatest  of  the  Zulu  kings,  be- 
cause of  his  deformity. 

There  he  sat  silent,  impassive,  staring  open-eyed  at 
the  red  ball  of  the  setting  sun,  looking  more  like  some 
unshapely  statue  than  a  man.  His  silent,  fierce-faced 
servants  appeared.  To  me  they  looked  like  the  same 
men  whom  I  had  seen  here  three  and  twenty  years 


ZIKALI  173 

before,  only  grown  older.  Indeed,  I  think  they  were, 
for  they  greeted  me  by  name  and  saluted  by  raising 
their  broad  spears.  I  dismounted  and  waited  while 
Anscombe,  whose  foot  was  now  quite  well  again, 
helped  Heda  from  the  cart  which  was  led  away  by  the 
servants.  Anscombe,  who  seemed  a  little  oppressed, 
remarked  that  this  was  a  strange  place. 

"Yes,"  said  Heda,  "but  it  is  magnificent.  I  like 
it." 

Then  her  eye  fell  upon  Zikali  seated  before  the  hut 
and  she  turned  pale. 

"  Oh !  what  a  terrible-looking  man,"  she  murmured, 
"  if  he  is  a  man." 

The  maid  Kaatje  saw  him  also  and  uttered  a  little 
cry. 

"Don't  be  frightened,  dear,"  said  Anscombe,  "he 
is  only  an  old  dwarf." 

"  I  suppose  so,"  she  exclaimed  doubtfully,  "  but  to 
me  he  is  like  the  devil." 

Nombe  slid  past  us.  She  threw  off  the  kaross  she 
wore  and  for  the  first  time  appeared  naked  except  for 
the  mucha  about  her  middle  and  her  ornaments.  Down 
she  went  on  her  hands  and  knees  and  in  this  humble 
posture  crept  towards  Zikali.  Arriving  in  front  of 
him  she  touched  the  ground  with  her  forehead,  then 
lifting  her  right  arm,  gave  him  the  salute  of  Makosi, 
to  which  as  a  great  wizard  he  was  entitled,  being  sup- 
posed to  be  the  home  of  many  spirits.  So  far  as  I 
could  see  he  took  no  notice  of  her. 

Presently  she  moved  and  squatted  herself  down  on 
his  right  hand,  while  two  of  his  attendants  appeared 
from  behind  the  hut  and  took  their  stand  between  him 
and  its  doorway,  holding  their  spears  raised.  About 
a  minute  later  Nombe  beckoned  to  us  to  approach,  and 


174  FINISHED 

we  went  forward  across  the  courtyard,  I  a  little  ahead 
of  the  others.  As  we  drew  near  Zikali  opened  his 
mouth  and  uttered  a  loud  and  terrifying  laugh.  How 
well  I  remembered  that  laugh  which  I  had  first  heard 
at  Dingaan's  kraal  as  a  boy  after  the  murder  of  Retief 
and  the  Boers. ' 

"  I  begin  to  think  that  you  are  right  and  that  this 
old  gentleman  must  be  the  devil,"  said  Anscombe  to 
Heda,  then  lapsed  into  silence. 

As  I  was  determined  not  to  speak  first  I  took  the 
opportunity  to  fill  my  pipe.  Zikali,  who  was  watching 
me,  although  all  the  while  he  seemed  to  be  staring  at 
the  setting  sun,  made  a  sign.  One  of  the  servants 
dashed  away  and  immediately  returned,  bearing  a 
flaming  brand  which  he  proffered  to  me  as  a  pipe- 
lighter.  Then  he  departed  again  to  bring  three  carved 
stools  of  red  wood  which  he  placed  for  us.  I  looked 
at  mine  and  knew  it  again  by  the  carvings.  It  was  the 
same  on  which  I  had  sat  when  first  I  met  Zikali.  At 
length  he  spoke  in  his  deep,  slow  voice. 

"  Many  years  have  gone  by,  Macumazahn,  since  you 
made  use  of  that  stool.  They  are  cut  in  notches  upon 
the  leg  you  hold,  and  you  may  count  them  if  you 
will." 

I  examined  the  leg.  There  were  the  notches,  twenty- 
two  or  three  of  them.  On  the  other  legs  were  more 
notches  too  numerous  to  reckon. 

''Do  not  look  at  those,  Macumazahn,  for  they  have 
nothing  to  do  with  you.  They  tell  the  years  since  the 
first  of  the  House  of  Senzangacona  sat  upon  that  stool, 
since  Chaka  sat  upon  it,  since  Dingaan  and  others  sat 
upon  it,  one  Mameena  among  them.  Well,  much  has 
happened  since  it  served  you  for  a  rest.  You  have 
'  See  the  book  called  "  Marie,"  by  H.  Rider  Haggard. 


ZIKALI  175 

wandered  far  and  seen  strange  things  and  lived  where 
others  would  have  died  because  it  was  your  lot  to  live, 
of  all  of  which  we  will  talk  afterwards.  And  now 
when  you  are  grey  you  have  come  back  here,  as  the 
Opener  of  Roads  told  you  you  would  do,  bringing  with 
you  new  companions,  you  who  have  the  art  of  making 
friends  even  when  you  are  old,  which  is  one  given 
to  few  men.  Where  are  those  with  whom  you  used  to 
company,  Macumazahn  ?  Where  are  Saduka  and  Ma- 
meena  and  the  rest?  All  gone  except  the  Thing-who- 
should-never-have-been-born,"  and  again  he  laughed 
loudly. 

"  And  who  it  seems  has  never  learned  when  to  die," 
I  remarked,  speaking  for  the  first  time. 

*'  Just  so,  Macumazahn,  because  I  cannot  die  until 
my  work  is  finished.  But  thanks  be  to  the  spirits  of 
my  fathers  and  to  my  own  that  I  live  on  to  glut  with 
vengeance,  the  end  draws  near  at  last,  and  as  I  prom- 
ised you  in  the  dead  days,  you  shall  have  your  share 
in  it,  Macumazahn." 

He  paused,  then  continued,  still  staring  at  the  sink- 
ing sun,  which  made  his  remarks  about  us,  whom  he 
did  not  seem,  to  see,  uncanny — 

"  That  white  man  with  you  is  brave  and  well-born, 
one  who  loves  fighting,  I  think,  and  the  maiden  is  fair 
and  sweet,  with  a  high  spirit.  She  is  thinking  to  her- 
self that  I  am  an  old  wizard  whom,  if  she  were  not 
afraid  of  me,  she  would  ask  to  tell  her  her  fortune. 
See,  she  understands  and  starts.  Well,  perhaps  I  will 
one  day.  Meanwhile,  here  is  a  little  bit  of  it.  She 
will  have  five  children,  of  whom  two  will  die  and  one 
will  give  her  so  much  trouble  that  she  will  wish  it 
had  died  also.  But  who  their  father  will  be  I  do  not 
say.    Nombe  my  child,  lead  away  this  White  One  and 


176  FINISHED 

her  woman  to  the  hut  that  has  been  made  ready  for 
her,  for  she  is  weary  and  would  rest.  See,  too,  that 
she  lacks  for  nothing  which  we  can  give  her  who  is  our 
guest.  Let  the  white  lord,  Mauriti,  accompany  her  to 
the  hut  and  be  shown  that  next  to  it  in  which  he  and 
Macumazahn  will  sleep,  so  that  he  may  be  sure  that 
she  is  safe,  and  attend  to  the  horses  if  he  wills.  There 
is  a  place  to  tether  them  behind  the  huts,  and  the  men 
who  travelled  with  you  will  help  him.  Afterwards, 
when  I  have  spoken  with  him,  Macumazahn  can  join 
them  that  they  may  eat  before  they  sleep." 

These  directions  I  translated  to  Anscombe,  who 
went  gladly  enough  with  Heda,  for  I  think  they  were 
both  afraid  of  the  terrible  old  dwarf  and  did  not  desire 
his  company  in  the  gathering  gloom. 

**  The  sun  sinks  once  more,  Macumazahn,"  he  said 
when  they  were  gone,  "  and  the  air  grows  chill.  Come 
with  me  now  into  my  hut  where  the  fire  burns,  for  I 
am  aged  and  the  cold  strikes  through  me.  Also  there 
we  can  be  alone." 

So  speaking  he  turned  and  crawled  into  the  hut, 
looking  like  a  gigantic  white-headed  beetle  as  he  did 
so,  a  creature,  I  remembered,^  to  which  I  had  once 
compared  him  in  the  past.  I  followed,  carrying  the 
historic  stool,  and  when  he  had  seated  himself  on  his 
kaross  on  the  further  side  of  the  fire,  took  up  my  posi- 
tion opposite  to  him.  This  fire  was  fed  with  some  kind 
of  root  or  wood  that  gave  a  thin  clear  flame  with  little 
or  no  smoke.  Over  it  he  crouched,  so  closely  that  his 
great  head  seemed  to  be  almost  in  the  flame  at  which 
he  stared  with  unblinking  eyes  as  he  had  done  at  the 
sun,  circumstances  which  added  to  his  terrifying  ap- 
pearance and  made  me  think  of  a  certain  region  and 
its  inhabitants. 


ZIKALT  177 

"Why  do  you  come  here,  Macumazahn ?"  he  asked 
after  studying  me  for  a  while  through  that  window  of 
fire. 

"  Because  you  brought  me,  Zikali,  partly  through 
your  messenger,  Nombe,  and  partly  by  means  of  a 
dream  which  she  says  you  sent." 

"  Did  I,  Macumazahn  ?  If  so,  I  have  forgotten  it. 
Dreams  are  as  many  as  gnats  by  the  water;  they  bite 
us  while  we  sleep,  but  when  we  wake  up  we  forget 
them.  Also  it  is  foolishness  to  say  that  one  man  can 
send  a  dream  to  another." 

"  Then  your  messenger  lied,  Zikali,  especially  as  she 
added  that  she  brought  it." 

"  Of  course  she  lied,  Macumazahn.  Is  she  not  my 
pupil  whom  I  have  trained  from  a  child?  Moreover, 
she  lied  well,  it  would  seem,  who  guessed  what  sort 
of  a  dream  you  would  have  when  you  thought  of  turn- 
ing your  steps  to  Zululand." 

"  Why  do  you  play  at  sticks  (i.e.,  fence)  with  me, 
Zikali,  seeing  that  neither  of  us  are  children?  " 

"  O  Macumazahn,  that  is  where  you  are  mistaken, 
seeing  that  both  of  us,  old  though  we  be  and  cunning 
though  we  think  ourselves,  are  nothing  but  babes  in 
the  arms  of  Fate.  Well,  well,  I  will  tell  you  the  truth, 
since  it  would  be  foolish  to  try  to  throw  dust  into  such 
eyes  as  yours.  I  knew  that  you  were  down  in  Seku- 
kuni's  country  and  I  was  watching  you — through  my 
spies.  You  have  been  nowhere  during  all  these  years 
that  I  was  not  watching  you — through  my  spies.  For 
instance,  that  Arab-looking  man  named  Harut,  whom 
first  you  met  at  a  big  kraal  in  a  far  country,  was  a  spy 
of  mine.  He  has  visited  me  lately  and  told  me  much 
of  your  doings.  No,  don't  ask  me  of  him  now  who 
would  talk  to  you  of  other  matters—: — " 


178  FINISHED 

''  Does  Harut  still  live  then,  and  has  he  found  a  new- 
god  in  place  of  the  Ivory  Child  ?  "  I  interrupted. 

"  Macumazahn,  if  he  did  not  live,  how  could  he  visit 
and  speak  with  me  ?  Well,  I  watched  you  there  by  the 
Oliphant's  River  where  you  fought  Sekukuni's  people, 
and  afterwards  in  the  marble  hut  where  you  found  the 
old  white  man  dead  in  his  chair  and  got  the  writings 
that  you  have  in  your  pocket  which  concern  the  maiden 
Heddana;  also  afterwards  when  the  w^hite  man,  your 
friend,  killed  the  doctor  who  fell  into  a  mud  hole  and 
the  Basutos  stole  his  cattle  and  wagon." 

*'  How  do  you  know  all  these  things,  Zikali  ?  " 

*'  Have  I  not  told  you — through  my  spies.  Was 
there  not  a  half-breed  driver  called  Footsack,  and  do 
not  the  Basutos  come  and  go  between  the  Black  Kloof 
and  Sekukuni's  town,  bearing  me  tidings?  " 

''  Yes,  Zikali,  and  so  does  the  wind  and  so  do  the 
birds." 

"  True  1  O  Macumazahn,  I  see  that  you  are  one  who 
has  watched  Nature  and  its  ways  as  closely  as  my  spies 
watch  you.  So  I  learned  these  matters  and  knew  that 
you  were  in  trouble  over  the  death  of  these  white  men, 
and  your  friends  likewise,  and  as  you  w^ere  ahvays  dear 
to  me,  I  sent  that  child  Nombe  to  bring  you  to  me, 
thinking  from  what  I  knew  of  you  that  you  would  be 
more  likely  to  follow  a  woman  who  is  both  wise  and 
good  to  look  at,  than  a  man  who  might  be  neither.  I 
told  her  to  say  to  you  that  you  and  the  others  would  be 
safer  here  than  in  Natal  at  present.  It  seems  that  you 
hearkened  and  came.    That  is  all." 

"  Yes,  I  hearkened  and  came.  But,  Zikali,  that  is 
not  all,  for  you  know  well  that  you  sent  for  me  for 
your  own  sake,  not  for  mine." 

"O  Macumazahn,  who  can  prevent  a  needle  from 


ZIKALI  179 

piercing  cloth  when  it  is  pushed  by  a  finger  like  yours  ? 
Your  wits  are  too  sharp  for  me,  Macumazahn;  your 
eyes  read  through  the  blanket  of  cunning  with  which 
I  would  hide  my  thought.  You  speak  truly.  I  did 
send  for  you  for  my  own  sake  as  well  as  for  yours.  I 
sent  for  you  because  I  wanted  your  counsel,  Macuma- 
zahn, and  because  Cetewayo  the  king  also  wants  your 
counsel,  and  I  wished  to  see  you  before  you  saw  Cete- 
wayo.   Now  you  have  the  whole  truth." 

**  What  do  you  want  my  counsel  about,  Zikali  ?  " 

He  leaned  forward  till  his  white  locks  almost  seemed 
to  mingle  with  the  thin  flame,  through  which  he  glared 
at  me  with  eyes  that  were  fiercer  than  the  fire. 

"  Macumazahn,  you  remember  the  story  that  I  told 
you  long  ago,  do  you  not?  " 

"  Very  well,  Zikali.  It  was  that  you  hate  the  House 
of  Senzangacona  which  has  given  all  its  kings  to  Zulu- 
land.  First,  because  you  are  one  of  the  Dwandwe 
tribe  whom  the  Zulus  crushed  and  mocked  at.  Sec- 
ondly, because  Chaka  the  Lion  named  you  the  "  Thing- 
that-should-never-have-been-born "  and  killed  your 
wives,  for  which  crime  you  brought  about  the  death  of 
Chaka.  Thirdly,  because  you  have  matched  your  single 
wit  for  many  years  against  all  the  power  of  the  royal 
House  and  yet  kept  your  life  in  you,  notably  when 
Panda  threatened  you  in  my  presence  at  the  trial  of  one 
who  has  '  gone  down,'  and  you  told  him  to  kill  you  if 
he  dared.  Now  you  would  prove  that  you  were  right 
by  causing  your  cunning  to  triumph  over  the  royal 
House." 

''  True,  quite  true,  O  Macumazahn.  You  have  a 
good  memory,  Macumazahn,  especially  for  anything 
that  has  to  do  with  that  woman  who  has  '  gone  down.* 
I  sent  her  down,  but  how  was  she  named,  Macuma- 


i8o  FINISHED 

zahn?  I  forget,  I  forget,  whose  mind  being  old,  falls 
suddenly  into  black  pits  of  darkness — like  her  who 
went  down." 

He  paused  and  we  stared  at  each  other  through  the 
veil  of  fire.    Then  as  I  made  no  answer,  he  went  on — 

"  Oh !  I  remember  now,  she  was  called  Mameena, 
was  she  not,  a  name  taken  from  the  wailing  of  the 
wind?    Hark!     It  is  wailing  now." 

I  listened ;  it  was,  and  I  shivered  to  hear  it,  since  but 
a  minute  before  the  night  had  been  quite  still.  Yes, 
the  wind  moaned  and  wailed  about  the  rocks  of  the 
Black  Kloof. 

"  Well,  enough  of  her.  Why  trouble  about  the  dead 
when  there  are  so  many  to  be  sent  to  join  them? 
Macumazahn,  the  hour  is  at  hand.  The  fool  Cete- 
wayo  has  quarrelled  with  your  people,  the  English, 
and  on  my  counsel.  He  has  sent  and  killed  women,  or 
allowed  others  to  do  so,  across  the  river  in  Natal.  His 
messengers  came  to  me,  asking  what  he  should  do.  I 
answered,  *  Shall  a  king  of  the  blood  of  Chaka  fear  to 
allow  his  own  wicked  ones  to  be  slain  because  they  have 
stepped  across  a  strip  of  water,  and  still  call  himself 
king  of  the  Zulus?'  So  those  women  were  dragged 
back  across  the  water  and  killed ;  and  now  the  Queen's 
man  from  the  Cape  asks  many  things,  great  fines  of 
cattle,  the  giving  up  of  the  slayers,  and  that  an  end 
should  be  made  of  the  Zulu  army,  which  is  to  lay  down 
its  spears  and  set  to  hoeing  like  the  old  women  in  the 
kraals." 

"  And  if  the  king  refuses,  what  then,  Zikali?  " 
"  Then,  Macumazahn,  the  Queen's  man  w^ill  declare 
war  on  the  Zulus ;  already  he  gathers  his  soldiers  for 
the  war." 

"Will  Cetewayo  refuse,  Zikali?" 


ZIKALI  i8i 

"  I  do  not  know.  His  mind  swings  this  way  and 
that,  like  a  pole  balanced  on  a  rock.  The  ends  of  the 
pole  are  weighted  with  much  counsel,  and  it  hangs  so 
even  that  if  a  grasshopper  lit  on  one  end  or  the  other, 
it  would  turn  the  scale." 

"  And  do  you  wish  me  to  be  that  grasshopper, 
Zikali?" 

"  Who  else  ?  That  is  why  I  brought  you  to  Zulu- 
land." 

"  So  you  wish  me  to  counsel  Cetewayo  to  lie  down 
in  the  bed  that  the  English  have  made  for  him.  If  he 
seeks  my  advice  I  will  do  so  gladly,  for  so  I  am  sure 
he  will  sleep  well." 

'*  Why  do  you  mock  me,  Macumazahn?  I  wish  you 
to  counsel  Cetewayo  to  throw  back  his  word  into  the 
teeth  of  the  Queen's  man  and  to  fight  the  English." 

"  And  thus  bring  destruction  on  the  Zulus  and  death 
to  thousands  of  them  and  of  my  own  people,  and  in 
return  gain  nothing  but  remorse.  Do  you  think  me 
mad  or  wicked,  or  both,  that  I  should  do  this  thing?  " 

"  Nay,  Macumazahn,  you  would  gain  much.  I  could 
show  you  where  the  king's  cattle  are  hidden.  The 
English  will  never  find  them,  and  after  the  war  you 
might  take  as  many  as  you  chose.  But  it  would  be  use- 
less, for  knowing  you  well,  I  am  sure  that  you  would 
only  hand  them  over  to  the  British  Government,  as 
once  you  handed  over  the  cattle  of  Bangu,  being  fash- 
ioned that  way  by  the  Great-Great,  Macumazahn." 

'*  Perhaps  I  might,  but  then  what  should  I  gain, 
Zikali?" 

"  This :  you  would  so  bring  things  about  that,  being 
broken  by  war,  the  Zulu  power  could  never  again  men- 
ace the  White  Men,  which  would  be  a  great  and  good 
deed,  Macumazahn." 


i82  FINISHED 

"  Mayhap — I  am  not  sure.  But  of  this  I  am  sure, 
that  I  will  not  thrust  my  face  into  your  nest  of  wasps, 
that  the  English  hornets  may  steal  the  honey  when  they 
are  disturbed.  I  leave  such  matters  to  the  Queen  and 
those  who  rule  under  her.  So  have  done  with  such 
talk,  for  you  do  but  waste  your  breath,  Zikali." 

''  It  is  as  I  guessed  it  would  be,"  he  answered,  shak- 
ing his  great  head.  "  You  are  too  honest  to  prosper  in 
the  world,  Macumazahn.  Well,  I  must  find  other 
means  to  bring  the  House  of  Cetewayo  to  the  end  that 
he  deserves,  who  has  been  an  evil  and  a  cruel  king." 

All  this  he  said,  showing  neither  surprise  nor  resent- 
ment, which  convinced  me  of  what  I  had  suspected 
throughout,  that  never  for  an  instant  did  he  believe 
that  I  should  fall  in  with  his  suggestions  and  try  to 
influence  the  Zulus  to  declare  war.  No,  this  talk  of  his 
was  but  a  blind ;  there  was  some  deeper  scheme  at  work 
in  his  cunning  old  brain  which  he  was  hiding  from  me. 
Why  exactly  had  he  beguiled  me  to  Zululand?  I 
could  not  divine,  and  to  ask  him  would  be  worse  than 
useless,  but  then  and  there  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I 
would  get  away  from  the  Black  Kloof  early  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  if  that  were  possible. 

He  began  to  speak  of  other  matters  in  a  low,  dron- 
ing voice,  like  a  man  who  converses  with  himself. 
Sad,  all  of  them,  such  as  the  haunted  death  of  Saduka 
who  had  betrayed  his  lord,  the  Prince  Umbelazi,  be- 
cause of  a  woman,  every  circumstance  of  which  seemed 
to  be  familiar  to  him. 

I  made  no  answer,  who  was  waiting  for  ^n  oppor- 
tunity to  leave  the  hut,  and  did  not  care  to  dwell  on 
these  events.  He  ceased  and  brooded  for  a  while, 
then  said  suddenly — 

"  You  are  hungry  and  would  eat,  Macumazahn,  and 


ZIKALI  183 

I  who  eat  little  would  sleep,  for  in  sleep  the  multitudes 
of  Spirits  visit  me,  bringing  tidings  from  afar.  Well, 
we  have  spoken  together  and  of  that  I  am  glad,  for 
who  knows  when  the  chance  will  come  again,  though 
I  think  that  soon  we  shall  meet  at  Ulundi,  Ulundi 
where  Fate  spreads  its  net.  What  was  it  I  had  to  say 
to  you?  Ah!  I  remember.  There  is  one  who  is  al- 
ways in  your  thoughts  and  whom  you  wish  to  see,  one 
too  who  wishes  to  see  you.  You  shall,  you  shall  in 
payment  for  the  trouble  you  have  taken  in  coming  so 
far  to  visit  a  poor  old  Zulu  doctor  whom,  as  you  told 
me  long  ago,  you  know  to  be  nothing  but  a  cheat." 

He  paused  and,  why  I  could  not  tell,  I  grew  weak 
with  fear  of  I  knew  not  what,  and  bethought  me  of 
flight. 

"  It  is  cold  in  this  hut,  is  it  not  ?  "  he  went  on. 
"  Burn  up,  fire,  burn  up !  "  and  plunging  his  hand  into 
a  catskin  bag  of  medicines  which  he  wore,  he  drew  out 
some  powder  which  he  threw  upon  the  embers  that 
instantly  burst  into  bright  flame. 

"  Look  now,  Macumazahn,"  he  said,  "  look  to  your 
right." 

I  looked,  and  oh  Heaven !  there  before  me  with  out- 
stretched arms  and  infinite  yearning  on  her  face,  stood 
Mameena,  Mameena  as  I  had  last  seen  her  after  I  gave 
her  the  promised  kiss  that  she  used  to  cover  her  taking 
of  the  poison.  For  five  seconds,  mayhap,  she  stood 
thus,  living,  wonderful,  but  still  as  death,  the  fierce 
light  showing  all.  Then  the  flame  died  down  again 
and  she  ivas  gone. 

I  turned  and  next  instant  was  out  of  the  hut,  pur- 
sued by  the  terrible  laughter  of  Zikali. 


CHAPTER  XII 

TRAPPED 

Outside  in  the  cool  night  air  I  recovered  my- 
self, sufficiently  at  any  rate  to  be  able  to  think, 
and  saw  at  once  that  the  thing  was  an  illusion 
for  which  Zikali  had  prepared  my  mind  very  carefully 
by  means  of  the  young  witch-doctoress,  Nombe.  He 
knew  well  enough  that  this  remarkable  woman,  Ma- 
meena,  had  made  a  deep  impression  on  me  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  before,  as  she  had  done  upon  other 
men  with  whom  she  had  been  associated.  Therefore 
it  was  probable  that  she  would  always  be  present  to 
my  thought,  since  whatever  a  man  forgets,  he  remem- 
bers the  women  who  have  shown  him  favour,  true  or 
false,  for  Nature  has  decreed  it  thus. 

Moreover,  this  was  one  to  be  remembered  for  her- 
self, since  she  was  beautiful  and  most  attractive  in  her 
wild  way.  Also  she  had  brought  about  a  great  war 
causing  the  death  of  thousands,  and  lastly  her  end 
might  fairly  be  called  majestic.  All  these  impressions 
Zikali  had  instructed  Nombe  to  revivify  by  her  con- 
tinual allusions  to  Mameena,  and  lastly  by  her  pretence 
that  she  saw  her  walking  in  front  of  me.  Then  when 
I  was  tired  and  hungry,  in  that  place  which  for  me  was 
so  closely  connected  with  this  woman,  and  in  his  own 
uncanny  company,  either  by  mesmerism  or  through 
the  action  of  the  drug  he  threw  upon  the  fire,  he  had 
succeeded  in  calling  up  the  illusion  of  her  presence  to 

184 


TRAPPED  185 

my  charmed  sight.  All  this  was  clear  enough,  what 
remained  obscure  was  his  object. 

Possibly  he  had  none  beyond  an  impish  desire  to 
frighten  me,  which  is  common  enough  among  practi- 
tioners of  magic  in  all  lands.  Well,  for  a  little  while 
he  had  succeeded,  although  to  speak  truth  I  remained 
uncertain  whether  in  a  sense  I  was  not  more  thrilled 
and  rejoiced  than  frightened.  Mameena  had  never 
been  so  ill  to  look  upon,  and  I  knew  that  dead  or  living 
I  had  nothing  to  fear  from  her  who  would  have 
walked  through  hell  fire  for  my  sake,  would  have  done 
anything,  except  perhaps  sacrifice  her  ambition.  No, 
even  if  this  were  her  ghost  I  should  have  been  glad  to 
see  her  again. 

But  it  was  not  a  ghost;  it  was  only  a  fancy  repro- 
duced exactly  as  my  mind  had  photographed  her, 
almost  as  my  eyes  last  saw  her,  when  her  kiss  was 
still  warm  upon  my  lips. 

Such  were  my  thoughts  as  I  stood  outside  that  hut 
with  the  cold  perspiration  running  down  my  face,  for 
to  tell  the  truth  my  nerves  were  upset,  although  with- 
out reason.  So  upset  were  they  that  when  suddenly  a 
silent-footed  man  appeared  out  of  the  darkness  I 
jumped  as  high  as  though  I  had  set  my  foot  on  a 
puff-adder,  and  until  I  recognized  him  by  his  voice  as 
one  of  Nombe's  servants  who  had  accompanied  us 
from  Swazi-Land,  felt  quite  alarmed.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  he  had  only  come  to  tell  me  that  our  meal  was 
ready  and  that  the  other  "  high  White  Ones  "  were 
waiting  for  me. 

He  led  me  round  the  fence  that  encircled  Zikali's 
dwelling-place,  to  two  huts  that  stood  nearly  behind  it, 
almost  against  the  face  of  the  rock  which,  overhanging 
in  a  curve,  formed  a  kind  of  natural  roof  above  them. 


i86  FINISHED 

I  thought  they  must  have  been  built  since  I  visited  the 
place,  as  I,  who  have  a  good  memory  for  such  things, 
did  not  remember  them.  Indeed,  on  subsequent  exami- 
nation I  found  that  they  were  quite  new,  for  the  poles 
that  formed  their  uprights  were  still  green  and  the 
grass  of  the  thatch  was  scarcely  dry.  It  looked  to  me 
as  if  they  had  been  specially  constructed  for  our 
accommodation. 

In  one  of  these  huts,  that  to  the  right  which  was 
allotted  to  Anscombe  and  myself,  I  found  the  others 
waiting  for  me,  also  the  food.  It  was  good  of  its  sort 
and  Avell  cooked,  and  we  ate  it  by  the  light  of  some 
candles  that  we  had  with  us,  Kaatje  serving  us.  Yet, 
although  a  little  while  before  I  had  been  desperately 
hungry,  now  my  appetite  seemed  to  have  left  me  and 
I  made  but  a  poor  meal.  Heda  and  Anscombe  also 
seemed  oppressed  and  ate  sparingly.  We  did  not  talk 
much  until  Kaatje  had  taken  away  the  tin  plates  and 
gone  to  eat  her  own  supper  by  a  fire  that  burned  out- 
side the  hut.  Then  Heda  broke  out,  saying  that  she 
was  terrified  of  this  place  and  especially  of  its  master, 
the  old  dwarf,  and  felt  sure  that  something  terrible 
was  going  to  happen  to  her.  Anscombe  did  his  best  to 
calm  her,  and  I  also  told  her  she  had  nothing  to  fear. 

"If  there  is  nothing  to  fear,  Mr.  Quatermain,"  she 
answered,  turning  on  me,  "  why  do  you  look  so  fright- 
ened yourself?  By  your  face  you  might  have  seen  a 
ghost.'' 

This  sudden  and  singularly  accurate  thrust,  for  after 
all  I  had  seen  something  that  looked  very  like  a  ghost, 
startled  me,  and  before  I  could  invent  any  soothing 
and  appropriate  fib,  Nombe  appeared,  saying  that  she 
had  come  to  lead  Heda  to  her  sleeping-place.  After 
this    further   conversation   was   impossible   since,    al- 


TRAPPED  187 

though  Nombe  knew  but  few  words  of  English,  she 
was  a  great  thought-reader  and  I  feared  to  speak  of 
anything  secret  in  her  presence.  So  we  all  went  out 
of  the  hut,  Nombe  and  I  drawing  back  a  little  to  the 
fire  while  the  lovers  said  good-night  to  each  other. 

"  Nombe,"  I  said,  "  the  Inkosikaasi  Heddana  is 
afraid.  The  rocks  of  this  kloof  lie  heavy  on  her  heart  ; 
the  face  of  the  Opener  of  Roads  is  fearful  to  her  and 
his  laughter  grates  upon  her  ears.  Do  you  under- 
stand?" 

"  I  understand,  Macumazahn,  and  it  is  as  I  expected. 
When  you  yourself  are  frightened  it  is  natural  that 
she,  an  untried  maiden,  should  be  frightened  also  in 
this  home  of  spirits." 

"  It  is  men  we  fear,  not  spirits,  now  when  all  Zulu- 
land  is  boiling  like  a  pot,"  I  replied  angrily. 

"  Have  it  as  you  will,  Macumazahn,"  she  said,  and 
at  that  moment  her  quiet,  searching  eyes  and  fixed 
smile  were  hateful  to  me.  "  At  least  you  admit  that 
you  do  fear.  Well,  for  the  lady  Heddana  fear  noth- 
ing. I  sleep  across  the  door  of  her  hut,  and  while  I 
who  have  learned  to  love  her,  live,  I  say — for  her  fear 
nothing,  whatever  may  chance  or  whatever  you  may 
see  or  hear." 

"  I  believe  you,  but,  Nombe,  you  might  die." 

"  Yes,  I  may  die,  but  be  sure  of  this,  that  when  I  die 
she  will  be  safe,  and  he  who  loves  her  also.  Sleep  well, 
Macumazahn,  and  do  not  dream  too  much  of  what  you 
heard  and  saw  in  Zikali's  house." 

Then  before  I  could  speak  she  turned  and  left  me. 

I  did  not  sleep  well;  I  slept  very  badly.  To  begin 
with,  Maurice  Anscombe,  generally  the  most  cheerful 
and  nonchalant  of  mortals  with  a  jest  for  every  woe, 
was  in  a  most  depressed  condition,  and  informed  me 


i88  FINISHED 

of  it  several  times,  while  I  was  getting  ready  to  turn 
in.  He  said  he  thought  the  place  hateful  and  felt  as  if 
people  he  could  not  see  were  looking  at  him  (I  had  the 
same  sensation  but  did  not  mention  the  fact  to  him). 
When  I  told  him  he  was  talking  stuff,  he  only  replied 
that  he  could  not  help  it,  and  pointed  out  that  it  was 
not  his  general  habit  to  be  downcast  in  any  danger, 
which  was  quite  true.  Now,  he  added,  he  was  enjoy- 
ing much  the  same  sensations  as  he  did  when  first  he 
saw  the  Yellow-wood  swamp  and  got  the  idea  into 
his  head  that  he  would  kill  some  one  there,  which  hap- 
pened in  due  course. 

"  Do  you  mean  that  you  think  you  are  going  to  kill 
somebody  else  ?  "  I  asked  anxiously. 

"  No,"  he  answered,  "  I  think  I  am  going  to  be 
killed,  or  something  like  it,  probably  by  that  accursed 
old  villain  of  a  witch-doctor,  who  I  don't  believe  is 
altogether  human." 

"  Others  have  thought  that  before  now,  Anscombe, 
and  to  be  plain,  I  don't  know  that  he  is.  He  lives  too 
much  with  the  dead  to  be  like  other  people." 

"  And  with  Satan,  to  whom  I  expect  he  makes  sac- 
rifices. The  truth  is  I'm  afraid  of  his  playing  some  of 
his  tricks  with  Heda.  It  is  for  her  I  fear,  not  for 
myself,  Allan.    Oh !  why  on  earth  did  you  come  here  ?  " 

"  Because  you  wished  it  and  it  seemed  the  safest 
thing  to  do.  Look  here,  my  boy,  as  usual  the  trouble 
comes  through  a  woman.  When  a  man's  single — you 
know  the  rest.  You  used  to  be  able  to  laugh  at  any- 
thing, but  now  that  you  are  practically  double  you 
can't  laugh  any  more.  Well,  that's  the  common  lot  of 
man  and  you've  got  to  put  up  with  it.  Adam  was 
pretty  jolly  in  his  garden  until  Eve  was  started,  but 
you  know  what  happened  afterwards.    The  rest  of  his 


TRAPPED  189 

life  was  a  compound  of  temptation,  anxiety,  family 
troubles,  remorse,  hard  labour  with  primitive  instru- 
ments, and  a  flaming  sword  behind  him.  If  you  had 
left  your  Eve  alone  you  would  have  escaped  all  this. 
But  you  see  you  didn't,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  nobody 
ever  does  who  is  worth  his  salt,  for  Nature  has  ar- 
ranged it  so." 

"  You  appear  to  talk  with  experience,  Allan,"  he  re- 
torted blandly.  ''  By  the  way,  that  girl  Nombe,  when 
she  isn't  star-gazing  or  muttering  incantations,  is  al- 
ways trying  to  explain  to  Heda  some  tale  about  you 
and  a  lady  called  Mameena.  I  gather  that  you  were 
introduced  to  her  in  this  neighbourhood  where,  Nombe 
says,  you  were  in  the  habit  of  kissing  her  in  public, 
which  sounds  an  odd  kind  of  a  thing  to  do;  all  of 
which  happened  before  she,  Nombe,  was  born.  She 
adds,  according  to  Kaatje's  interpretation,  that  you 
met  her  again  this  afternoon,  which,  as  I  understand 
the  young  woman  has  been  long  dead,  seems  so  incom- 
prehensible that  I  wish  you  would  explain." 

''  With  reference  to  Heda,"  I  said,  ignoring  the  rest 
as  unworthy  of  notice,  "  I  think  you  may  make  your 
mind  easy.  Zikali  knows  that  she  is  in  my  charge  and 
I  don't  believe  that  he  wants  to  quarrel  with  me.  Still, 
as  you  are  uncomfortable  here,  the  best  thing  to  do  will 
be  to  get  away  as  early  as  possible  to-morrow  morn- 
ing, where  to  we  can  decide  afterwards.  And  now  I 
am  going  to  sleep,  so  please  stop  arguing." 

As  I  have  already  hinted,  my  attempts  in  the  sleep 
line  proved  a  failure,  for  whenever  I  did  drop  off  I 
was  pursued  by  bad  dreams,  which  resulted  from  lying 
down  so  soon  after  supper.  I  heard  the  cries  of  des- 
perate men  in  their  mortal  agony.  I  saw  a  rain-swollen 
river;  its  waters  were  red  with  blood.    I  beheld  a  vision 


I90  FINISHED 

of  one  who  I  knew  by  his  dress  to  be  a  Zulu  king,  al- 
though I  could  not  see  his  face.  He  was  flying  and 
staggering  with  weariness  as  he  fled.  A  great  hound 
followed  him.  It  lifted  its  head  from  the  spoor;  it 
was  that  of  Zikali  set  upon  the  hound's  body,  Zikah 
who  laughed  instead  of  baying.  Then  one  whose  cop- 
per ornaments  tinkled  as  she  walked,  entered  and  sat 
beside  me,  whispering  into  my  ear.  "  A  quarter  of  a 
hundred  years  have  gone  by  since  we  talked  together 
in  this  haunted  kloof,"  she  seemed  to  whisper,  ''  and 
before  we  talk  again  face  to  face  there  remain  to  pass 
of  years  " — 

Here  she  ceased,  though  naturally  I  should  have 
liked  to  hear  the  number.  But  that  is  just  where 
dreams  break  down.  They  tell  us  only  of  what  we 
know,  or  can  evolve  therefrom.  Of  what  it  is  impos- 
sible for  us  to  know  they  tell  us  nothing — at  least  as  a 
general  rule. 

I  woke  up  with  a  start,  and  feeling  stifled  in  that  hot 
hut  and  aggravated  by  the  sound  of  Anscombe's  peace- 
ful breathing,  threw  a  coat  about  me  and,  removing 
the  door-board,  crept  into  the  air.  The  night  was  still, 
the  stars  shone,  and  at  a  little  distance  the  embers  of 
the  fire  still  glowed.  By  it  was  seated  a  figure  wrapped 
in  a  kaross.  The  end  of  a  piece  of  wood  that  the  fire 
had  eaten  through,  fell  on  to  the  red  ashes  and  flamed 
up  brightly.  By  its  light  I  saw  that  the  figure  was 
Nombe's.  The  eternal  smile  was  still  upon  her  face, 
the  smile  which  suggested  a  knowledge  of  hidden  things 
that  from  moment  to  moment  amused  her  soul.  Her 
lips  moved  as  though  she  were  talking  to  an  invisible 
companion,  and  from  time  to  time^  like  one  who  acts 
upon  directions,  she  took  a  pinch  of  ashes  and  blew 
them,  either  towards  Heda's  hut  or  ours.     Yes,  she 


TRAPPED  191 

did  this  when  all  decent  young  women  should  have 
been  asleep,  like  one  who  keeps  some  unholy,  midnight 
assignation. 

Talking  with  her  master,  Zikali,  or  trying  to  cast 
spells  upon  us,  confound  her!  thought  I  to  myself,  and 
very  silently  crept  back  into  the  hut.  Afterwards  it 
occurred  to  me  that  she  might  have  had  another  motive, 
namely  of  watching  to  see  that  none  of  us  left  the 
huts. 

The  rest  of  the  night  went  by  somehow.  Once,  lis- 
tening with  all  my  ears,  I  thought  that  I  caught  the 
sound  of  a  number  of  men  tramping  and  of  some  low 
word  of  command,  but  as  I  heard  no  more,  concluded 
that  fancy  had  deceived  me.  There  I  lay,  puzzling 
over  the  situation  till  my  head  ached,  and  wondering 
how  we  were  to  get  clear  of  the  Black  Kloof  and 
Zikali,  and  out  of  Zululand  which  I  gathered  was  no 
place  for  white  people  at  the  moment. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  the  only  thing  was  to  make  a 
start  for  Dundee  on  the  Natal  border,  and  for  the  rest 
to  trust  to  fortune.  If  we  got  into  trouble  over  the 
death  of  Rodd,  unpleasant  as  this  would  be,  the  matter 
must  be  faced  out,  that  was  all.  For  even  if  any  wit- 
ness appeared  against  us,  the  man  had  been  killed  in 
self-defence  whilst  trying  to  bring  about  our  deaths  at 
the  hands  of  Basutos.  I  could  see  now  that  I  was 
foolish  not  to  have  taken  this  line  from  the  first,  but 
as  I  think  I  have  already  explained,  what  weighed  with 
me  was  the  terror  of  involving  these  young  people  in  a 
scandal  which  might  shadow  all  their  future  lives. 
Also  some  fate  inch  by  inch  had  dragged  me  into 
Zululand.  Fortunately  in  life  there  are  few  mistakes, 
and  even  worse  than  mistakes,  that  cannot  be  repaired, 
if  the  wish  towards  reparation  is  real  and  earnest. 


192  FINISHED 

Were  it  otherwise  not  many  of  us  would  escape  de- 
struction in  one  form  or  another. 

Thus  I  reflected  until  at  length  light  flowing  faintly 
through  the  smoke-hole  of  the  hut  told  me  that  dawn 
was  at  hand.  Seeing  it  I  rose  quietly,  for  I  did  not 
wish  to  wake  Anscombe,  dressed  and  left  the  hut.  My 
object  was  to  find  Nombe,  who  I  hoped  would  be  still 
sitting  by  the  fire,  and  send  her  to  Zikali  with  a  mes- 
sage that  I  wished  to  speak  with  him  at  once.  Glanc- 
ing round  me  in  the  grey  dawn  I  saw  that  she  was 
gone  and  that  as  yet  no  one  seemed  to  be  stirring. 
Hearing  a  horse  snort  at  a  little  distance,  I  made  my 
way  towards  the  sound  and  in  a  little  bay  of  the  over- 
hanging cliff,  discovered  the  cart  and  near  by  our 
beasts  tied  up  with  a  plentiful  supply  of  forage.  Since 
so  far  as  I  could  judge  in  that  uncertain  light,  nothing 
seemed  to  be  wrong  with  them  except  weariness,  for 
three  of  them  were  still  lying  down,  I  walked  on  to 
the  gate  of  the  fence  which  surrounded  Zikali's  big 
hut,  proposing  to  wait  there  until  some  one  appeared 
by  whom  I  could  send  my  message. 

I  reached  the  gate  which  I  tried  and  found  to  be 
fastened  on  its  inner  side.  Then  I  sat  down,  lit  my 
pipe  and  waited.  It  was  extraordinarily  lonesome  in 
that  place ;  at  least  this  was  the  feeling  that  came  over 
me.  No  doubt  the  sun  was  up  behind  the  Ceza  Strong- 
hold that  I  have  mentioned,  which  towered  high  behind 
me,  for  the  sky  above  grew  light  with  the  red  rays  of 
its  rising.  But  all  the  vast  Black  Kloof  with  its  huge 
fantastic  rocks  was  still  plunged  in  gloom,  whereof 
the  shadows  seemed  to  oppress  my  heart,  weary  as  I 
was  with  my  wakeful  night  and  many  anxieties.  I 
was  horribly  nervous  also  and,  as  it  proved,  not  with- 
out reason.    Presently  I  heard  rustlings  on  the  further 


TRAPPED  193 

side  of  the  fence,  as  of  people  creeping  about  cau- 
tiously, and  the  sound  of  whispering.  Then  of  a  sud- 
den the  gate  was  thrown  open  and  through  it  emerged 
about  a  dozen  Zulu  warriors,  all  of  them  ringed  men, 
who  instantly  surrounded  me,  seated  there  upon  the 
ground. 

I  looked  at  them  and  they  looked  at  me  for  quite  a 
long  while,  since  following  my  usual  rule,  I  determined 
not  to  be  the  first  to  speak.  Moreover,  if  they  meant 
to  kill  me  there  was  no  use  in  speaking.  At  length 
their  leader,  an  elderly  man  with  thin  legs,  a  large 
stomach  and  a  rather  pleasant  countenance,  saluted 
politely,  saying — 

"  Good  morning,  O  Macumazahn." 

"  Good  morning,  O  Captain,  whose  name  and  busi- 
ness I  do  not  know,"  I  answered. 

"  The  winds  know  the  mountain  on  which  they  blow, 
but  the  mountain  does  not  know  the  winds  which  it 
cannot  see,''  he  remarked  with  poetical  courtesy;  a 
Zulu  way  of  saying  that  more  people  are  acquainted 
with  Tom  Fool  than  Tom  Fool  is  aware  of. 

-'  Perhaps,  Captain ;  yet  the  mountain  can  feel  the 
winds,"  and  I  might  have  added,  smell  them,  for  the 
kloof  was  close  and  these  Kaffirs  had  not  recently 
bathed. 

"  I  am  named  Goza  and  come  on  an  errand  from  the 
king,  O  Macumazahn." 

"  Indeed,  Goza,  and  is  your  errand  to  cut  my 
throat?" 

'*  Not  at  present,  Macumazahn,  that  is,  unless  you 
refuse  to  do  what  the  king  wishes." 

"  And  what  does  the  king  wish,  Goza  ?  " 

"He  wishes,  Macumazahn,  that  you,  his  friend, 
should  visit  him." 


194  FINISHED 

"  Which  is  just  what  I  was  on  my  way  to  do,  Goza." 
(This  was  not  true,  but  it  didn't  matter,  for,  if  a  lie, 
in  the  words  of  the  schoolgirl's  definition,  is  an  abomi- 
nation to  the  Lord,  it  is  a  very  present  help  in  time  of 
trouble.)  ''  After  we  have  eaten  I  and  my  friends  will 
accompany  you  to  the  king's  kraal  at  Ulundi." 

"  Not  so,  Macumazahn.  The  king  said  nothing 
about  your  friends,  of  whom  I  do  not  think  he  has  ever 
heard  any  more  than  we  have.  Moreover,  if  your 
friends  are  white,  you  will  do  well  not  to  mention 
them,  since  the  order  is  that  all  white  people  in  Zulu- 
land  who  have  not  come  here  by  the  king's  desire,  are 
to  be  killed  at  once,  except  yourself,  Macumazahn." 

"  Is  it  so,  Goza?  Well,  as  you  will  have  understood, 
I  am  quite  alone  here  and  have  no  friends.  Only  I 
did  not  wish  to  travel  so  early." 

"Of  course  we  understand  that  you  are  quite  alone 
and  have  no  friends,  is  it  not  so,  my  brothers?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,  we  understand,"  they  exclaimed  in 
chorus,  one  of  them  adding,  "  and  shall  so  report  to 
the  king." 

"  What  kind  of  blankets  do  you  like;  the  plain  grey 
ones  or  the  white  ones  with  the  blue  stripes?  "  I  asked, 
desiring  to  confirm  them  in  this  determination. 

"  The  grey  ones  are  warmer,  Macumazahn,  and  do 
not  show  dirt  so  much,"  answered  Goza  thoughtfully. 

"  Good,  I  will  remember  when  I  have  the  chance." 

"  The  promise  of  Macumazahn  is  known  from  of  old 
to  be  as  a  tree  that  elephants  cannot  pull  down  and 
white  ants  will  not  eat,"  said  the  sententious  Goza, 
thereby  intimating  his  belief  that  some  time  or  other 
they  would  receive  those  blankets.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
the  survivors  of  the  party  and  the  families  of  the  others 
did  receive  them  after  the  war,  for  in  dealing  with 


TRAPPED  195 

natives  I  have  always  made  a  point  of  trying  to  fulfil 
any  promise  or  engagement  made  for  value  received. 

"  And  now,"  went  on  Goza,  "  will  the  Inkosi  be 
pleased  to  start,  as  we  have  to  travel  far  to-day?  " 

"  Impossible,"  I  replied.  ''  Before  I  leave  I  must 
eat,  for  who  can  journey  upon  yesterday's  food?  Also 
I  must  saddle  my  horse,  collect  what  belongs  to  me, 
and  bid  farewell  to  my  host,  Zikali." 

"  Of  meat  we  have  plenty  with  us,  Macumazahn, 
and  therefore  you  will  not  hunger  on  the  way.  Your 
horse  and  everything  that  is  yours  shall  be  brought 
after  you,  since  were  you  mounted  on  that  swift  beast 
and  minded  to  escape,  how  could  we  catch  you  with 
our  feet,  and  did  you  please  to  shoot  us  with  your  rifle, 
how  could  we  who  have  only  spears,  save  ourselves 
from  dying?  As  for  the  Opener  of  Roads,  his  serv- 
ants have  told  us  that  he  means  to  sleep  all  to-day  that 
he  may  talk  with  spirits  in  his  dreams,  and  therefore 
it  is  useless  for  you  to  wait  to  bid  him  f arew^ell.  More- 
over, the  orders  of  the  king  are  that  we  should  bring 
you  to  him  at  once." 

After  this  for  a  time  there  was  silence,  while  I  sat 
immovable  revolving  the  situation,  and  the  Zulus  re- 
garded me  with  a  benignant  interest.  Goza  took  his 
snuff-box  from  his  ear,  shook  out  some  into  the  palm 
of  his  hand  and,  after  offering  it  to  me  in  vain,  inhaled 
it  himself. 

"  The  orders  of  the  king  are  (sneeze)  that  we  should 
bring  you  to  him  alive  if  possible,  and  if  not  (sneeze) 
dead.  Choose  which  you  will,  Macumazahn.  Perhaps 
you  may  prefer  to  go  to  Ulundi  dead,  which  would — 
ah!  how  strong  is  this  snuff,  it  makes  me  weep  like  a 
woman — save  you  the  trouble  of  walking.  But  if  you 
prefer  that  we  should  carry  you,  be  so  good,  Macuma- 


196  FINISHED 

zahn,  first  to  write  the  words  which  will  cause  the  grey 
blankets  to  be  delivered  to  us,  for  we  know  well  that 
even  your  bones  would  desire  to  keep  your  promise. 
Is  it  not  a  proverb  in  the  land  from  the  time  of  the 
slaying  of  Bangu  when  you  gave  the  cattle  you  had 
earned  to  Saduka's  wanderers  ?  " 

I  listened  and  an  idea  occurred  to  me,  as  perhaps  it 
had  to  Goza. 

"  I  hear  you,  Goza,"  I  said,  "  and  I  will  start  for 
Ulundi  on  my  feet — to  save  you  the  trouble  of  carry- 
ing me.  But  as  the  times  are  rough  and  accidents  may 
always  happen;  as,  too,  I  wish  to  make  sure  that  you 
should  get  those  blankets,  and  it  may  chance  that  I 
shall  arrive  there  on  my  back,  first  I  will  write 
words  which,  if  they  are  delivered  to  the  witch-doc- 
toress  Nombe,  will,  sooner  or  later,  turn  into  blankets." 

"  Write  the  words  quickly,  Macumazahn,  and  they 
will  be  delivered,"  said  Goza. 

So  I  drew  out  my  pocketbook  and  wrote — 

"  Dear  Anscombe, — 

There  is  treachery  afoot  and  I  think  that  Zikali  is 
at  the  bottom  of  it.  I  am  being  carried  off  to  Cete- 
wayo  at  Ulundi,  by  a  party  of  armed  Zulus  who  will 
not  allow  me  to  communicate  with  you,  probably  by 
Zikali's  orders.  You  must  do  the  best  you  can  for 
Heda  and  yourself.  Escape  to  Natal  if  you  are  able. 
Of  course  I  will  help  if  I  get  the  chance,  but  if  war  is 
about  to  break  out  Cetewayo  may  kill  me.  I  think  that 
you  can  trust  Nombe;  also  that  Zikali  does  not  wish  to 
work  you  any  ill  unless  he  is  obliged,  though  I  have  no 
doubt  that  he  has  trapped  us  here  for  some  dark  pur- 
pose of  his  own.  Tell  him  through  Nombe  that  if 
harm  comes  to  you  I  will  kill  him  if  I  live,  and  that  if 


TRAPPED  197 

I  die,  I  will  settle  the  score  with  him  afterwards.  God 
save  and  bless  you  both.  Keep  up  your  courage  and 
use  your  wits. 

"  Your  friend, 

"A.  Q." 

I  tore  out  the  sheet,  folded,  addressed  it  and  pre- 
sented it  to  Goza,  remarking  that  although  it  seemed 
to  be  but  paper,  it  really  was  fourteen  blankets — if 
given  at  once  to  Nombe. 

He  nodded  and  handed  it  to  one  of  his  men,  who 
departed  in  the  direction  of  our  huts.  So,  thought  I 
to  myself,  Nombe  knows  all  about  this  business,  which 
means  that  it  is  being  worked  by  Zikali.  That  is  why 
she  spoke  to  me  as  she  did  last  night. 

"  It  is  time  to  start,  Macumazahn,  and  I  think  you 
told  us  that  you  would  prefer  to  do  so  on  your  feet," 
said  Goza,  looking  suggestively  at  his  spear. 

"  I  am  ready,"  I  said,  rising  because  I  must.  For  a 
moment  I  contemplated  the  door  in  the  kraal  fence, 
wondering  whether  it  would  be  safe  to  bolt  through  it 
and  take  refuge  with  Zikali.  No,  it  was  not  safe,  since 
Zikali  sat  there  in  his  hut  pulling  the  strings  and  prob- 
ably might  refuse  to  see  me.  Moreover,  it  was  likely 
enough  that  before  I  could  find  him  one  of  those  broad 
spears  would  find  my  heart.  There  was  nothing  to  be 
done  except  submit.  Still  I  did  call  out  in  a  loud 
voice — 

"  Farewell,  Zikali.  I  leave  you  without  a  present 
against  my  will  who  am  being  taken  by  soldiers  to  visit 
the  king  at  Ulundi.  When  we  meet  again  I  will  talk 
all  this  matter  over  with  you." 

There  was  no  answer,  and  as  Goza  took  the  oppor- 
tunity to  say  that  he  disliked  the  noise  of  shouting  ex- 


198  FINISHED 

tremely,  which  sometimes  made  him  do  things  that  he 
afterwards  regretted,  I  became  silent.  Then  we  de- 
parted, I  in  the  exact  centre  of  that  guard  of  Zulus, 
heavy-hearted  and  filled  with  fears  both  for  myself 
and  those  I  left  behind  me. 

Down  the  Black  Kloof  we  tramped,  emerging  on 
the  sunlit  plain  beyond  without  meeting  any  one.  A 
couple  of  miles  further  on  we  came  to  a  small  stream 
where  Goza  announced  we  would  halt  to  eat.  So  we 
ate  of  cold  toasted  meat  which  one  of  the  men  pro- 
duced from  a  basket  he  carried,  unpalatable  food  but 
better  than  nothing.  Just  as  we  had  finished  I  looked 
up  and  saw  the  soldier  to  whom  my  note  had  been 
given.  He  was  leading  my  mare  that  had  been  sad- 
dled. On  it  were  my  large  saddle-bags  packed  with 
my  belongings,  also  my  thick  overcoat,  mackintosh, 
waterbottle,  and  other  articles  down  to  a  bag  of  to- 
bacco, a  spare  pipe  and  a  box  of  wax  matches.  More- 
over, the  man  carried  my  double-barrelled  Express 
rifle  and  a  shotgun  that  could  be  used  for  ball,  to- 
gether with  two  bags  of  cartridges.  Practically  noth- 
ing belonging  to  me  had  been  forgotten. 

I  asked  him  who  had  collected  the  things.  He  re- 
plied the  doctoress  Nombe  had  done  so  and  had  brought 
him  the  horse  saddled  to  carry  them.  He  did  not  know 
who  saddled  the  horse  as  he  had  seen  no  one  but 
Nombe  to  whom  he  had  given  the  writing  which  she 
hid  away.  In  answer  to  further  questions,  he  said 
that  Nombe  had  sent  me  a  message.    It  was — 

"  I  bid  farewell  to  Macumazahn  for  a  little  while 
and  wish  him  good  fortune  till  we  meet  again.  Let 
him  not  be  afraid  in  the  battle,  for  even  if  he  is  hurt 
it  will  not  be  to  death,  since  those  go  with  him  whom 
he  cannot  see,  and  protect  him  with  their  shields.    Say 


TRAPPED  199 

to  Macumazahn  that  I,  Nombe,  remember  in  the  morn- 
ing what  I  said  in  the  night  and  that  what  seems  to  be 
quite  lost  is  ofttimes  found  again.  Wish  him  good 
fortune  and  tell  him  I  am  sorry  that  I  had  not  time  to 
cause  his  spare  garments  to  be  cleansed  with  water, 
but  that  I  have  been  careful  to  find  his  little  box  with 
the  white  man's  medicines." 

I  could  extract  nothing  more  from  this  soldier,  who 
was  either  very  stupid,  or  chose  to  appear  so;  nor  in- 
deed did  I  dare  to  put  direct  questions  about  the  cart 
and  those  who  travelled  in  it. 

Soon  we  marched  again,  for  Goza  would  not  allow 
me  to  ride  the  horse,  fearing  that  I  should  escape  on  it. 
Nor  would  he  let  me  carry  either  of  the  guns  lest  I 
should  make  use  of  them.  All  day  we  travelled,  reach- 
ing the  Nongoma  heights  in  the  late  afternoon.  On 
this  beautiful  spot  we  found  a  kraal  situated  where 
afterwards  a  magistracy  was  built  when  we  conquered 
the  country,  whence  there  is  one  of  the  finest  views  in 
Zululand.  There  was  no  one  in  the  kraal  except  two 
old  women  who  appeared  to  be  deaf  and  dumb  for  all 
I  could  get  out  of  them.  These  aged  dames,  however, 
or  others  who  were  hidden,  had  made  ready  for  our 
arrival,  since  a  calf  lay  skinned  and  prepared  for  cook- 
ing, and  by  it  big  gourds  filled  with  Kaffir  beer  and 
maas  or  curdled  milk. 

In  due  course  we  ate  of  these  provisions,  and  after 
we  had  finished  I  gave  Goza  a  stiff  tot  of  brandy,  of 
which  Nombe,  or  perhaps  Anscombe,  had  thoughtfully 
sent  a  bottle  with  my  other  baggage.  The  strong 
liquor  made  the  old  fellow  talkative  and  enabled  me  to 
get  a  good  deal  of  information  out  of  him.  Thus  I 
learned  that  certain  demands,  as  to  which  he  was  rather 
vague,  had  been  made  upon  Cetewayo  by  the  English 


200  FINISHED 

Government,  and  that  the  King  was  now  consider- 
ing whether  he  should  accede  to  them  or  fight.  The 
Great  Council  of  the  nation  was  summoned  to  attend 
at  Ulundi  within  a  few  days,  when  the  matter  would 
be  decided.  Meanwhile  all  the  regiments  were  being 
gathered,  or,  as  we  should  say,  mobilized;  an  army, 
said  Goza,  greater  than  any  that  Chaka  had  ever  led. 

I  asked  him  what  I  had  to  do  with  this  business, 
that  I,  a  peaceful  traveller  and  an  old  friend  of  the 
Zulus,  should  be  made  prisoner  and  dragged  off  to 
Ulundi.  He  replied  he  did  not  know  who  was  not  in 
the  council  of  the  High  Ones,  but  he  thought  that  Cete- 
wayo  the  king  wished  to  see  me  because  I  was  their 
friend,  perhaps  that  he  might  send  me  as  a  messenger 
to  the  white  people.  I  asked  him  how  the  king  knew 
that  I  was  in  the  country,  to  which  he  replied  that 
Zikali  had  told  him  I  was  coming,  he  did  not  know 
how,  whereon  he,  Goza,  was  sent  at  once  to  fetch  me. 
I  could  get  no  more  out  of  him. 

I  wondered  if  it  would  be  worth  while  to  make  him 
quite  drunk  and  then  attempt  to  escape  on  the  horse, 
but  gave  up  the  idea.  To  begin  with,  his  men  were  at 
hand  and  there  was  not  enough  brandy  to  make  them 
all  drunk.  Also  even  if  I  succeeded  in  winning  away 
here  in  the  heart  of  Zululand,  it  would  not  help  Ans- 
combe  or  Heda  and  I  should  probably  be  cut  off  and 
killed  before  I  could  get  out  of  the  country.  So  I 
abandoned  the  plan  and  went  to  sleep  instead. 

Next  morning  we  left  Nongoma  early  in  the  hope  of 
reaching  Ulundi  that  evening  if  the  Ivuna  and  Black 
Umfolozi  Rivers  proved  fordable.  As  it  chanced, 
although  they  were  high,  we  were  able  to  cross  them, 
I  seated  on  the  horse  which  two  of  the  Zulus  led.  Next 
we  tramped  for  miles  through  the  terrible  Bekameezi 


TRAPPED  201 

Valley,  a  hot  and  desolate  place  which  the  Zulus  swear 
is  haunted.  So  unhealthy  is  this  valley,  which  is  the 
home  of  large  game,  that  whole  kraals-full  of  people 
who  have  tried  to  cultivate  the  rich  land,  have  died  in 
it  of  fever,  or  fled  away  leaving  their  crops  unreaped. 
Now  no  man  dwells  there.  After  this  we  climbed  a 
terrible  mount  to  the  high  land  of  Mahlabatini,  and 
having  eaten,  pushed  on  once  more. 

At  length  we  sighted  the  great  hill-encircled  plain  of 
Ulundi  which  may  be  called  the  cradle  of  the  Zulu  race 
as,  politically  speaking,  it  was  destined  to  be  its  coffin. 
On  the  ridge  to  the  west  once  stood  the  Nobamba  kraal 
where  dwelt  Senzangacona,  the  father  of  Chaka  the 
Lion.  Nearer  to  the  White  Umfolozi  was  Panda's 
dwelling-place,  Nodwengu,  which  once  I  knew  so  well, 
while  on  the  slope  of  the  hills  of  the  north-east  stood 
the  town  of  Ulundi  in  which  Cetewayo  dwelt,  bathed 
in  the  lights  of  sunset. 

Indeed  it  and  all  the  vast  plain  were  red  as  though 
with  blood,  red  as  they  were  destined  to  be  on  the 
coming  day  of  the  last  battle  of  the  Zulus. 


CHAPTER  Xm 

CETEWAYO 

It  was  dark  when  at  last  we  reached  the  Ulundi 
kraal,  for  the  growing  moon  was  obscured  by 
clouds.  Therefore  I  could  see  nothing  and  was 
only  aware,  by  the  sound  of  voices  and  the  continual 
challenging,  that  we  were  passing  through  great  num- 
bers of  men.  At  length  we  were  admitted  at  the  east- 
ern gate  and  I  was  taken  to  a  hut  where  I  at  once  flung 
myself  down  to  sleep,  being  so  weary  that  I  could  not 
attempt  to  eat.  Next  morning  as  I  was  finishing  my 
breakfast  in  the  little  fenced  courtyard  of  this  guest- 
hut,  Goza  appeared  and  said  that  the  king  commanded 
me  to  be  brought  to  him  at  once,  adding  that  I  must 
"  speak  softly  "  to  him,  as  he  was  "  very  angry." 

So  off  we  went  across  the  great  cattle  kraal  where  a 
regiment  of  young  men,  two  thousand  strong  or  so, 
were  drilling  with  a  fierce  intensity  which  showed  they 
knew  that  they  were  out  for  more  than  exercise. 
About  the  sides  of  the  kraal  also  stood  hundreds  of 
soldiers,  all  of  them  talking  and,  it  seemed  to  me,  ex- 
cited, for  they  stamped  upon  the  ground  and  even 
jumped  into  the  air  to  give  point  to  their  arguments. 
Suddenly  some  of  them  caught  sight  of  me,  whereon 
a  tall,  truculent  fellow  called  out — 

"  What  does  a  white  man  at  Ulundi  at  such  a  time, 
when  even  John  Dunn  dare  not  come  ?  Let  us  kill  him 
and  send  his  head  as  a  present  to  the  English  general 

202 


CETEWAYO  203 

across  the  Tugela.  That  will  settle  this  long  talk  about 
peace  or  war." 

Others  of  a  like  mind  echoed  this  kind  proposal, 
with  the  result  that  presently  a  score  or  so  of  them 
made  a  rush  at  me,  brandishing  their  sticks,  since  they 
might  not  carry  arms  in  the  royal  kraal.  Goza  did  his 
best  to  keep  them  ofif,  but  was  swept  aside  like  a 
feather,  or  rather  knocked  over,  for  I  saw  him  on  his 
back  with  his  thin  legs  in  the  air. 

"You  must  climb  out  of  this  pit  by  yourself,"  he 
began,  addressing  me  in  his  pompous  and  figurative 
way.  Then  somebody  stamped  on  his  face,  and  fixing 
his  teeth  in  his  assailant's  heel,  he  grew  silent  for  a 
while. 

The  truculent  blackguard,  who  was  about  six  feet 
three  high  and  had  a  mouth  like  a  wolf's  throat,  ar- 
rived in  front  of  me  and,  bending  down,  roared  out — 

"  We  are  going  to  kill  you.  White  Man.*' 

I  had  a  pistol  in  my  pocket  and  could  perfectly  well 
have  killed  him,  as  I  was  much  tempted  to  do.  A  sec- 
ond's reflection  showed  me,  however,  that  this  would 
be  useless  and  in  a  sense  put  me  in  the  wrong,  though 
when  the  matter  came  on  for  argument  it  would  inter- 
est me  no  more.  So  I  just  folded  my  arms  and,  look- 
ing up  at  him,  said — 

"Why,  Black  Man?'* 

"  Because  your  face  is  white,"  he  roared. 

"  No,"  I  answered,  "  because  your  heart  is  black  and 
your  eyes  are  so  full  of  blood  that  you  do  not  know 
Macumazahn  when  you  see  him." 

''Wow!''  said  one,  "it  is  Watcher-by-Night  him- 
self whom  our  fathers  knew  before  us.  Leave  him 
alone." 

"  No,"  shouted  the  great  fellow,  "  I  will  send  him  to 


204  FINISHED 

watch  where  it  is  always  night,  I  who  keep  a  club  for 
white  rats,"  and  he  brandished  his  stick  over  me. 

Now  my  temper  rose.  Watching  my  opportunity,  I 
stretched  out  my  right  foot  and  hooked  him  round  the 
ankle,  at  the  same  time  striking  up  with  all  my  force. 
My  fist  caught  him  beneath  the  chin  and  over  he  went 
backwards  sprawling  on  the  ground. 

"  Son  of  a  dog!  "  I  said,  *'  if  a  single  stick  touches 
me,  at  least  you  shall  go  first,"  and  whipping  out  my 
revolver,  I  pointed  it  at  him. 

He  lay  quiet  enough,  but  how  the  matter  would  have 
ended  I  do  not  know,  for  passion  was  running  high, 
had  not  Goza  at  this  moment  risen  with  a  bleeding 
nose  and  called  out — 

"  O  Fools,  would  you  kill  the  king's  guest  to  whom 
the  king  himself  has  given  safe-conduct.  Surely  you 
are  pots  full  of  beer,  not  men." 

"  Why  not?  "  answered  one.  "  This  is  the  Place  of 
Soldiers.  The  king's  house  is  yonder.  Give  the  old 
jackal  a  start  of  a  length  of  ten  assegais.  If  he  reaches 
it  first,  he  can  shake  hands  with  his  friend,  the  king. 
If  not  we  will  make  him  into  medicine." 

"  Yes,  yes,  run  for  it,  Jackal,"  clamoured  the  others, 
knocking  their  shields  with  their  sticks,  as  men  do  who 
would  frighten  a  buck,  and  opening  out  to  make  a  road 
for  me. 

Now  while  all  this  was  going  on,  with  some  kind  of 
sixth  sense  I  had  noted  a  big  man  whose  face  was 
shrouded  by  a  blanket  thrown  over  his  head,  who  very 
quietly  had  joined  these  drunken  rioters,  and  vaguely 
wondered  who  he  might  be. 

"  I  will  not  run,"  I  said  slowly,  "  that  I  may  be  saved 
by  the  king.  Nay,  I  will  die  here,  though  some  of  you 
shall  die  first.    Go  to  the  king,  Goza,  and  tell  him  how 


CETEWAYO  205 

his  servants  have  served  his  guest,"  and  I  lifted  my 
pistol,  waiting  till  the  first  stick  touched  me  to  put  a 
bullet  through  the  bully  on  the  ground. 

*'  There  is  no  need,"  said  a  deep  voice  that  pro- 
ceeded from  the  draped  man  of  whom  I  have  spoken, 
"  for  the  king  has  come  to  see  for  himself." 

Then  the  blanket  was  thrown  back,  revealing  Cete- 
wayo  grown  fat  and  much  aged  since  last  I  saw  him, 
but  undoubtedly  Cetewayo. 

''  Baycte!''  roared  the  mob  in  salute,  while  some  of 
those  who  had  been  most  active  in  the  tumult  tried  to 
slip  away. 

"  Let  no  man  stir,"  said  Cetewayo,  and  they  stood  as 
though  they  were  rooted  to  the  ground,  while  I  slipped 
my  pistol  back  into  my  pocket. 

"  Who  are  you.  White  Man  ?  "  he  asked,  looking  at 
me,  "  and  what  do  you  here  ?  " 

"  The  King  should  know  Macumazahn,"  I  answered, 
lifting  my  hat,  "  whom  Dingaan  knew,  whom  Panda 
knew  well,  and  whom  the  King  knew  before  he  was  a 

king.'' 

"  Yes,  I  know  you,"  he  answered,  "  although  since 
we  spoke  together  you  have  shrunk  like  an  oxhide  in 
the  sun,  and  time  has  stained  your  beard  white." 

"  And  the  King  has  grown  fat  like  the  ox  on  summer 
grass.  As  for  what  I  do  here,  did  not  the  King  send 
for  me  by  Goza,  and  was  I  not  brought  like  a  baby  in 
a  blanket?" 

"  The  last  time  we  met,"  he  went  on,  taking  no  heed 
of  my  words,  "  was  yonder  at  Nodwengu  when  the 
witch  Mameena  was  tried  iov  sorcery,  she  who  made 
my  brother  mad  and  brought  about  the  great  battle, 
in  which  you  fought  for  him  with  the  Amawombe 
regiment.    Do  you  not  remember  how  she  kissed  you, 


2o6  FINISHED 

Macumazahn,  and  took  poison  between  the  kisses,  and 
how  before  she  grew  silent  she  spoke  evil  words  to  me, 
saying  that  I  was  doomed  to  pull  down  my  own  House 
and  to  die  as  she  died,  words  that  have  haunted  me 
ever  since  and  now  haunt  me  most  of  all  ?  I  wish  to 
speak  to  you  concerning  them,  Macumazahn,  for  it  is 
said  in  the  land  that  this  beautiful  witch  loved  you 
alone  and  that  you  only  knew  her  mind." 

I  made  no  reply,  who  was  heartily  tired  of  this 
subject  of  Mameena  whom  no  one  seemed  able  to 
forget. 

"  Well,"  he  went  on,  "  we  will  talk  of  that  matter 
alone,  since  it  is  not  natural  that  you  should  wish  to 
speak  of  your  dead  darlings  before  the  world,"  and 
with  a  wave  of  the  hand  he  put  the  matter  aside.  Then 
suddenly  his  attitude  changed.  His  face,  that  had  been 
thoughtful  and  almost  soft,  became  fierce,  his  form 
seemed  to  swell  and  he  grew  terrible. 

"What  was  that  dog  doing?"  he  asked  of  Goza, 
pointing  to  the  brute  whom  I  had  knocked  down  and 
who  still  lay  prostrate  on  his  back,  afraid  to  stir. 

"  O  King,"  answered  Goza,  "  he  was  trying  to  kill 
Macumazahn  because  he  is  a  white  man,  although  I 
told  him  that  he  was  your  guest,  being  brought  to  you 
by  the  royal  command.  He  was  trying  to  kill  him  by 
giving  him  a  start  of  ten  spears'  length  and  making 
him  run  to  the  isigodhlo  (the  king's  house)  and  beat- 
ing him  to  death  with  the  sticks  of  these  men  if  they 
caught  him,  which,  as  he  is  old  and  they  are  young, 
they  must  have  done.  Only  the  Watcher-by-Night 
would  not  run ;  no,  although  he  is  so  small  he  knocked 
him  to  the  earth  with  his  fist,  and  there  he  lies.  That 
is  all,  O  King." 

"  Rise,  dog,"  said  Cetewayo,  and  the  man  rose  trem- 


CETEWAYO  207 

bling  with  fear,  and,  being  bidden,  gave  his  name, 
which  I  forget. 

"  Listen,  dog,"  went  on  the  king  in  the  same  cold 
voice.  "  What  Goza  says  is  true,  for  I  saw  and  heard 
it  all  with  my  eyes  and  ears.  You  would  have  made 
yourself  as  the  king.  You  dared  to  try  to  kill  the 
king's  guest  to  whom  he  had  given  safe-conduct,  and 
to  stain  the  king's  doorposts  with  his  blood,  thereby 
defiling  his  house  and  showing  him  to  the  white  people 
as  a  murderer  of  one  of  them  whom  he  had  promised 
to  protect.  Now,  Macumazahn,  do  you  say  how  he 
shall  die,  and  I  will  have  it  done." 

"  I  do  not  wish  him  to  die,"  I  answered,  "  I  think 
that  he  and  those  with  him  were  drunk.  Let  him  go, 
O  King." 

*'  Aye,  Macumazahn,  I  will  let  him  go.  See  now, 
we  are  in  the  centre  of  the  cattle-kraal,  and  to  the  east- 
ern gate  is  as  far  as  to  the  isigodhlo.  Let  this  man 
have  a  start  of  ten  spears'  length  and  run  to  the  eastern 
gate,  as  he  would  have  made  Macumazahn  run  to  the 
king's  house,  and  let  his  companions,  those  who  would 
have  hunted  Macumazahn,  hunt  him.  If  he  wins 
through  the  gate  he  can  go  on  to  the  Government  in 
Natal  and  tell  them  of  the  cruelty  of  the  Zulus.  Only 
then,  let  those  who  hunted  him  be  brought  before  me 
for  trial  and  perhaps  we  shall  see  how  they  can  run." 

Now  the  poor  wretch  caught  hold  of  my  hand,  beg- 
ging me  to  intercede  for  him,  but  soldiers  who  had 
come  up  dragged  him  away  and,  having  measured  the 
distance  allowed  him,  set  him  on  a  mark  made  upon 
the  ground.  Presently  at  a  word  off  he  sped  like  an 
arrow,  and  after  him  went  his  friends,  ten  or  more  of 
them.  I  think  they  caught  him  just  by  the  gate 
doubling  like  a  hare,  or  so  the  shouts  of  laughter  from 


2o8  FINISHED 

the  watching  regiment  told  me,  for  myself  I  would  not 
look. 

"  That  dog  ate  his  own  stomach,"  said  Cetewayo 
grimly,  thereby  indicating  in  native  fashion  that  the 
biter  had  been  bit  or  the  engineer  hoist  with  his  petard. 
"  It  is  long  since  there  has  been  a  war  in  the  land,  and 
some  of  these  young  soldiers  who  have  never  used  an 
assegai  save  to  skin  an  ox  or  cut  the  head  from  a 
chicken,  shout  too  loud  and  leap  too  high.  Now  they 
will  be  quieter,  and  while  you  stay  here  you  may  walk 
where  you  will  in  safety,  Macumazahn,"  he  added 
thoughtfully. 

Then  dismissing  the  matter  from  his  mind,  as  we 
white  people  dismiss  any  trivial  incident  in  a  morning 
stroll,  he  talked  for  a  few  minutes  to  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  regiment  that  was  drilling,  who  ran  up 
to  make  some  report  to  him,  and  walked  back  towards 
the  isigodhlo,  beckoning  me  to  follow  with  Goza. 

After  waiting  for  a  little  while  outside  the  gate  in 
the  surrounding  fence,  a  body-servant  ordered  us  to 
enter,  which  we  did  to  find  the  king  seated  on  the  shady 
side  of  his  big  hut  quite  alone.  At  a  sign  I  also  sat 
myself  down  upon  a  stool  that  had  been  set  for  me, 
while  Goza,  whose  nose  was  still  bleeding,  squatted  at 
my  side. 

"  Your  manners  are  not  so  good  as  they  were  once, 
Macumazahn,"  said  Cetewayo  presently,  "  or  perhaps 
you  have  been  so  long  away  from  the  royal  kraal  that 
you  have  forgotten  its  customs." 

I  stared  at  him,  wondering  what  he  could  mean, 
whereon  he  added  with  a  laugh — 

"  What  is  that  in  your  pocket  ?  Is  it  not  a  loaded 
pistol,  and  do  you  not  remember  that  it  is  death  to 
appear  before  the  king  armed?    Now  I  might  kill  you 


CETEWAYO  209 

and  have  no  blame,  although  you  are  my  guest,  for 
who  knows  that  you  are  not  sent  by  the  EngHsh  Queen 
to  shoot  me?  " 

"  I  ask  the  King's  pardon,"  I  said  humbly  enough. 
"  I  did  not  think  about  the  pistol.  Let  your  servants 
take  it  away." 

"  Perhaps  it  is  safer  in  your  pocket,  where  I  saw 
you  place  it  in  the  cattle-kraal,  Macumazahn,  than  in 
their  hands,  which  do  not  know  how  to  hold  such 
things.  Moreover,  I  know  that  you  are  not  one  who 
stabs  in  the  dark,  even  when  our  peoples  growl  round 
each  other  like  two  dogs  about  to  fight,  and  if  you 
were,  in  this  place  your  life  would  have  to  pay  for 
mine.  There  is  beer  by  your  side ;  drink  and  fear  noth- 
ing. Did  you  see  the  Opener  of  Roads,  Goza,  and  if 
so,  what  is  his  answer  to  my  message  ?  " 

"  O  King,  I  saw  him,"  answered  Goza.  "  The 
Father  of  the  doctors,  the  friend  and  master  of  the 
Spirits,  says  he  has  heard  the  King's  word,  yes,  that  he 
heard  it  as  it  passed  the  King's  lips,  and  that  although 
he  is  very  old,  he  will  travel  to  Ulundi  and  be  present 
at  the  Great  Council  of  the  nation  which  is  to  be  sum- 
moned on  the  eighth  day  from  this,  that  of  the  full 
moon.  Yet  he  makes  a  prayer  of  the  King.  It  is  that 
a  place  may  be  prepared  for  him,  for  his  people  and 
for  his  servants  who  carry  him,  away  from  this  town 
of  Ulundi,  where  he  may  sojourn  quite  alone,  a  decree 
of  death  being  pronounced  against  any  who  attempt 
to  break  in  upon  his  privacy,  either  where  he  dwells  or 
upon  his  journey.    These  are  his  very  words,  O  King: 

"  '  I,  who  am  the  most  ancient  man  in  Zululand, 
dwell  with  the  spirits  of  my  fathers,  who  will  not  suf- 
fer strangers  to  come  nigh  therrj  and  who,  if  they  are 
offended,  will  bring  great  woes  upon  the  land.    More- 


2IO  FINISHED 

over,  I  have  sworn  that  while  there  is  a  king  in  Zukt- 
land  and  I  draw  the  breath  of  Hfe,  never  again  will  I 
set  foot  in  a  royal  kraal,  because  when  last  I  did  so  at 
the  slaying  of  the  witch,  Mameena,  the  king  who  is 
dead  thought  it  well  to  utter  threats  against  me,  and 
never  more  will  I,  the  Opener  of  Roads,  be  threatened 
by  a  mortal.  Therefore  if  the  King  and  his  Council 
seek  to  drink  of  the  water  of  my  wisdom,  it  must  be  in 
the  place  and  hour  of  my  own  choosing.  If  this  can- 
not be,  let  me  abide  here  in  my  house  and  let  the  King 
seek  light  from  other  doctors,  since  mine  shall  remain 
as  a  lamp  to  my  own  heart.'  " 

Now  I  saw  that  these  words  greatly  disturbed  Cete- 
wayo  who  feared  Zikali,  as  indeed  did  all  the  land. 

"  What  does  the  old  wizard  mean  ? "  he  asked 
angrily.  ''  He  lives  alone  like  a  bat  in  a  cave  and  for 
years  has  been  seen  of  none.  Yet  as  a  bat  flies  forth  at 
night,  ranging  far  and  wide  in  search  of  prey,  so  does 
his  spirit  seem  to  fly  through  Zululand.  Everywhere  I 
hear  the  same  word.  It  is — '  What  says  the  Opener 
of  Roads  ?  '  It  is — '  How  can  aught  be  done  unless  the 
Opener  of  Roads  has  declared  that  it  shall  be  done,  he 
who  was  here  before  the  Black  One  (Chaka)  was 
born,  he  who  it  is  said  was  the  friend  of  Inkosi  Um- 
kulu,  the  father  of  the  Zulus  who  died  before  our  great- 
grandfathers could  remember;  he  who  has  all  knowl- 
edge and  is  almost  a  spirit,  if  indeed  he  be  not  a  spirit?  ' 
I  ask  you,  Macumazahn,  who  are  his  friend,  what  does 
he  mean,  and  why  should  I  not  kill  him  and  be  done?  " 

"  O  King,"  I  answered,  "  in  the  days  of  your  uncle, 
Dingaan,  when  Dingaan  slew  the  Boers  who  were  his 
guests,  and  thus  began  the  war  between  the  White  and 
the  Black,  I,  who  was  a  lad,  heard  the  laughter  of 
Zikali  for  the  first  time  yonder  at  the  kraal  Ungung- 


CETEWAYO  211 

undhlovu,  I  who  rode  with  Relief  and  escaped  the 
slaughter,  but  his  face  I  did  not  see.  Many  years  later, 
in  the  days  of  Panda  your  father,  I  saw  his  face  and 
therefore  you  name  me  his  friend.  Yet  this  friend 
who  drew  me  to  visit  him,  perhaps  by  your  will,  O 
King,  has  now  caused  me  to  be  brought  here  to  Ulundi, 
doubtless  by  your  will,  O  King,  but  against  my  own, 
for  who  wishes  to  come  to  a  town  where  he  is  well-nigh 
slain  by  the  first  brawler  he  meets  in  the  cattle-kraal?  " 

"  Yet  you  were  not  slain,  Macumazahn,  and  perhaps 
you  do  not  know  all  the  story  of  that  brawler,"  replied 
Cetewayo  almost  humbly,  like  one  who  begs  pardon, 
though  the  rest  of  what  I  had  said  he  ignored.  "  But 
still  you  are  Zikali's  friend,  for  between  you  and  him 
there  is  a  rope  which  enabled  him  to  draw  you  to  Zulu- 
land,  which  rope  I  have  heard  called  by  a  woman's 
-name.  Therefore  by  the  spirit  of  that  woman,  which 
still  can  draw  you  like  a  rope,  I  charge  you,  tell  me — 
what  does  this  old  wizard  mean,  and  why  should  I  not 
kill  him  and  be  rid  of  one  who  haunts  my  heart  like  an 
evil  vision  of  the  night  and,  as  I  sometimes  think,  is  an 
umtakati,  an  evil-doer,  who  would  work  ill  to  me  and 
all  my  House,  yes,  and  to  all  my  people  ?  " 

"  How  should  I  know  what  he  means,  O  King  ?  "  I 
answered  with  indignation,  though  in  fact  I  could  guess 
well  enough.  "  As  for  killing  him,  cannot  the  King 
kill  whom  he  will  ?  Yet  I  remember  that  once  I  heard 
your  father  ask  much  the  same  question  and  of  Zikali 
himself,  saying  that  he  was  minded  to  find  out  whether 
or  no  he  were  mortal  like  other  men.  I  remember  also 
Zikali  answered  that  there  was  a  saying  that  when  the 
Opener  of  Roads  came  to  the  end  of  his  road,  there 
would  be  no  more  a  king  of  Zululand,  as  there  was 
none  when  first  he  set  foot  upon  his  road.    Now  I  have 


212  FINISHED 

spoken,  who  am  a  white  man  and  do  not  understand 
your  sayings." 

"  I  remember  it  also,  Macumazahn,  who  was  pres- 
ent at  the  time,"  he  repHed  heavily.  "  My  father  feared 
this  Zikali  and  his  father  feared  him,  and  I  have  heard 
that  the  Black  One  himself,  who  feared  nothing,  feared 
him  also.  And  I,  too,  fear  him,  so  much  that  I  dare 
not  make  up  my  mind  upon  a  great  matter  without  his 
counsel,  lest  he  should  bewitch  me  and  the  nation  and 
bring  us  to  nothing." 

He  paused,  then  turning  to  Goza,  asked,  *'  Did  the 
Opener  of  Roads  tell  you  where  he  wished  to  dwell 
when  he  comes  to  visit  me  here  at  Ulundi  ?  " 

"  O  King,"  answered  Goza,  "  yonder  in  the  hills, 
not  further  away  than  an  aged  man  can  walk  in  the 
half  of  an  hour,  is  a  place  called  the  Valley  of  Bones, 
because  there  in  the  days  of  those  who  went  before  the 
King,  and  even  in  the  King's  day,  many  evil-doers  have 
been  led  to  die.  Zikali  would  dwell  in  this  Valley  of 
Bones,  and  there  and  nowhere  else  w^ould  meet  the 
King  and  the  Great  Council,  not  in  the  daylight  but 
after  sunset  when  the  moon  has  risen." 

"Why,"  said  Cetewayo,  starting,  ''the  place  is  ill- 
omened  and,  they  say,  haunted,  one  that  no  man  dares 
to  approach  after  the  fall  of  darkness  for  fear  lest  the 
ghosts  of  the  dead  should  leap  upon  him  gibbering." 

"  Such  were  the  words  of  the  Opener  of  Roads, 
O  King,"  replied  Goza.  "  There  and  nowhere  else  will 
he  meet  the  King,  and  there  he  demands  that  three 
huts  should  be  built  to  shelter  him  and  his  folk  and 
stored  with  all  things  needful.  If  this  be  not  granted 
to  him,  then  he  refuses  to  visit  the  King  or  to  give 
counsel  to  the  nation." 

"  So  be  it  then,"  said  Cetewayo.    "  Send  messengers 


CETEWAYO  213 

to  the  Opener  of  Roads,  Goza,  saying  that  what  he 
desires  shall  be  done.  Let  my  command  go  out  that 
under  pain  of  death  none  spy  upon  him  while  he  jour- 
neys hither  or  returns.  Let  the  huts  be  built  forthwith, 
and  when  it  is  known  that  he  is  coming,  let  food  in 
plenty  be  placed  in  them  and  afterwards  morning  by 
morning  taken  to  the  mouth  of  the  valley.  Bid  him 
announce  his  arrival  and  the  hour  he  chooses  for  our 
meeting  by  messenger.     Begone." 

Goza  leapt  up,  gave  the  royal  salute,  and  retreated 
backwards  from  the  presence  of  the  king,  leaving  us 
alone.  I  also  rose  to  depart,  but  Cetewayo  motioned 
to  me  to  be  seated. 

"  Macumazahn,"  he  said,  "  the  Great  Queen's  man 
who  has  come  to  Natal  (Sir  Bartle  Frere)  threatens 
me  with  war  because  two  evil-doing  women  were  taken 
on  the  Natal  side  of  the  Tugela  and  brought  back  to 
Zululand  and  killed  by  Mehlokazulu,  being  the  wives 
of  his  father,  Sirayo,  which  was  done  without  my 
knowledge.  Also  two  white  men  were  driven  away 
from  an  island  in  the  Tugela  River  by  some  of  my 
soldiers.'* 

"  Is  that  all,  O  King?  "  I  asked. 

"  No.  The  Queen's  man  says  I  kill  my  people  with- 
out trial,  which  is  a  lie  told  him  by  the  missionaries, 
and  that  girls  have  been  killed  also  who  refused  to 
marry  those  to  whom  they  were  given  and  ran  away 
with  other  men.  Also  that  wizards  are  smelt  out  and 
slain,  which  happens  but  rarely  now;  all  of  this  con- 
trary to  the  promises  I  made  to  Sompseu  when  he 
came  to  recognize  me  as  king  upon  my  father's  death, 
and  some  other  such  small  matters." 

"  What  is  demanded  if  you  would  avoid  war,  O 
King?" 


2ti4  FINISHED 

"  Nothing  less  than  this,  Macumazahn :  That  the 
Zulu  army  should  be  abolished  and  the  soldiers  allowed 
to  marry  whom  and  when  they  please,  because,  says  the 
Queen's  man,  he  fears  lest  it  should  be  used  to  attack 
the  English,  as  though  I  who  love  the  English,  as  those 
have  done  who  went  before  me,  desire  to  lay  a  finger 
on  them.  Also  that  another  Queen's  man  should  be 
sent  to  dwell  here  in  my  country,  to  be  the  eyes  and 
ears  of  the  English  Government  and  have  power  with 
me  in  the  land;  yes,  and  more  demands  which  would 
destroy  the  Zulus  as  a  people  and  make  me,  their  king, 
but  a  petty  kraal-head." 

**  And  what  will  the  King  answer?  "  I  asked. 

*'  I  know  not  what  to  answer.  The  fine  of  two  thou- 
sand cattle  I  will  pay  for  the  killing  of  the  women.  If 
it  may  be,  I  wish  no  quarrel  with  the  English,  though 
gladly  enough  I  would  have  fought  the  Dutch  had  not 
Sompseu  stretched  out  his  arm  over  their  land.  But 
how  can  I  disband  the  army  and  make  an  end  of  the 
regiments  that  have  conquered  in  so  many  wars? 
Macumazahn,  I  tell  you  that  if  I  did  this,  in  a  moon  I 
should  be  dead.  Oh !  you  white  people,  think  there  is 
but  one  will  in  Zululand,  that  of  the  King.  But  it  is 
not  so,  for  he  is  but  a  single  man  among  ten  thousand 
thousand,  who  lives  to  work  the  people's  wish.  If  he 
beats  them  with  too  thick  a  stick,  or  if  he  brings  them 
to  shame  or  does  what  the  most  of  them  do  not  wish, 
then  where  is  the  king?  Then,  I  say,  he  goes  a  road 
that  was  trodden  by  Chaka  and  Dingaan  who  were  be- 
fore me,  yes,  the  red  road  of  the  assegai.  Therefore 
to-day  I  stand  like  a  man  between  two  falling  cliffs. 
If  I  run  towards  the  English  the  Zulu  cliff  falls  upon 
me.  If  I  run  towards  my  own  people,  the  English  cliff 
falls  upon  me,  and  in  either  case  I  am  crushed  and 


CETEWAYO  215 

no  more  seen.  Tell  me  then,  Macumazahn,  you  whose 
heart  is  honest,  what  must  I  do?  " 

So  he  spoke,  wringing  his  hands,  with  tears  starting 
to  his  eyes,  and  upon  my  word,  although  I  never  liked 
Cetewayo  as  I  had  liked  his  father,  Panda,  perhaps  be- 
cause I  loved  his  brother,  Umbelazi,  whom  he  killed, 
and  had  known  him  do  many  cruel  deeds,  my  heart 
bled  for  him. 

''  I  cannot  tell  you.  King,"  I  answered,  thinking  that 
I  must  say  something,  "  but  I  pray  you  do  not  make 
war  against  the  Queen,  for  she  is  the  most  mighty  One 
in  the  whole  earth,  and  though  her  foot,  of  which  you 
see  but  the  little  toe  here  in  Africa,  seems  small  to  you, 
yet  if  she  is  angered,  it  will  stamp  the  Zulus  flat,  so 
that  they  cease  to  be." 

''  Many  have  told  me  this,  Macumazahn.  Yes,  even 
Uhamu,  the  son  of  my  uncle  Unzibe,  or,  as  some  say, 
the  son  of  his  spirit,  to  which  his  mother  was  married 
after  Unzibe  was  dead,  and  others  throughout  the  land, 
and  in  truth  I  think  it  myself.  But  who  can  hold  the 
army  which  shouts  for  war?  Ow!  the  Council  must 
decide,  which  means  perhaps  that  Zikali  will  decide, 
for  now  all  hang  upon  his  lips." 

"  Then  I  am  sorry,"  I  exclaimed. 

He  looked  at  me  shrewdly. 

"Are  you?  So  am  I.  Yet  his  counsel  must  be 
asked,  and  better  that  it  should  be  here  in  my  presence 
than  yonder  secretly  at  the  Black  Kloof.  I  would  kill 
him  if  I  dared,  but  I  dare  not,  who  am  sure — why  I 
may  not  say — that  the  same  sun  will  see  his  death  and 
mine." 

He  waved  his  hand  to  show  that  the  talk  on  this 
matter  was  ended,  then  added — 

"  Macumazahn,  you  are  my  prisoner  for  a  while,  but 


2i6  FINISHED 

give  me  your  word  that  you  will  not  try  to  escape  and 
you  may  go  where  you  will  within  an  hour's  ride  of 
Ulundi.  I  would  pay  you  well  to  stop  here  with  me, 
but  this  I  know  you  would  never  do  should  there  be 
trouble  between  us  and  your  people.  Therefore  I 
promise  you  that  if  war  breaks  out  I  will  send  you 
safely  to  Natal,  or  perhaps  sooner,  as  my  messenger, 
whence  doubtless  you  will  return  to  fight  against  me. 
Know  that  I  have  given  orders  that  every  other  white 
man  or  woman  who  is  found  in  Zululand  shall  be  killed 
as  a  spy.  Even  John  Dunn  has  fled  or  is  flying,  or  so 
I  hear,  John  Dunn  who  has  fed  out  of  my  hand  and 
grown  rich  on  my  gifts.  You  yourself  would  have 
been  killed  as  you  came  from  Swazi-Land  in  your  cart, 
had  not  command  been  sent  to  those  chiefs  through 
whose  lands  you  passed  that  neither  they  nor  their 
people  were  so  much  as  to  look  at  you." 

Now  for  one  intense  moment  I  thought,  as  hard  as 
ever  I  had  done  in  my  life.  It  was  evident — unless  he 
were  dealing  very  cunningly  with  me,  which  I  did  not 
believe — that  Cetewayo  knew  nothing  of  Anscombe 
and  Heda,  but  thought  that  I  had  come  into  Zululand 
alone.  Should  I  or  should  I  not  tell  him  and  beg  his 
protection  for  them?  If  I  did  so  he  might  refuse  or 
be  unable  to  give  it  to  them  far  away  in  the  midst  of  a 
savage  population  aflame  with  the  lust  of  war.  As  the 
incident  of  the  morning  showed,  it  was  as  much  as  he 
could  do  to  protect  myself,  although  the  Zulus  knew 
me  for  their  friend.  On  the  other  hand  no  one  who 
dwelt  under  Zikali's  blanket,  to  use  the  Kaflir  idiom, 
would  be  touched,  because  he  was  looked  on  as  half 
divine,  and  therefore  everything  under  it  down  to  the 
rat  in  his  thatch  was  sacred.  Now  Zikali  by  implica- 
tion and  Nombe  with  emphasis,  had  promised  to  safe- 


CETEWAYO  217 

guard  these  two.  Surely,  therefore,  they  would  run 
less  risk  in  the  Black  Kloof  than  here  at  Ulundi,  if 
ever  they  got  so  far. 

All  this  went  through  my  brain  in  an  instant,  with 
the  result  that  I  made  up  my  mind  to  say  nothing.  As 
the  issue  proved,  this  was  a  terrible  mistake,  but  who 
can  always  judge  rightly?  Had  I  spoken  out  it  seems 
to  me  probable  that  Cetewayo  would  have  granted  my 
prayer  and  ordered  that  these  two  should  be  escorted 
out  of  Zululand  before  hostilities  began,  although  of 
course  they  might  have  been  murdered  on  the  way. 
Also,  for  a  reason  that  will  become  evident  later,  it  is 
possible  that  there  would  never  have  been  any  hostili- 
ties. All  I  can  plead  is,  that  I  acted  for  the  best  and 
Fate  would  have  it  so.  Another  moment  and  the 
chance  was  gone. 

The  gate  opened  and  a  body-servant  appeared  an- 
nouncing that  one  of  the  great  captains  with  some  of 
his  officers  waited  to  see  the  king.  Cetewayo  made  a 
sign,  whereon  the  servant  called  out  something,  and 
they  entered,  three  or  four  of  them,  saluting  loudly. 
Seeing  me  they  stopped  and  stared,  whereon  Cetewayo 
shortly,  but  with  much  clearness,  repeated  to  them  and 
to  an  induna  who  accompanied  them,  what  he  had 
already  said  to  me,  namely  that  I  was  his,  guest,  sent 
for  by  him  that  he  might  use  me  as  a  messenger  if  he 
thought  fit.  He  added  that  the  man  who  dared  to 
speak  a  word  against  me,  or  even  to  look  at  me  askance, 
should  pay  the  price  with  his  life,  however  high  his 
station,  and  he  commanded  that  the  heralds  should 
proclaim  this  his  decree  throughout  Ulundi  and  the 
neighbouring  kraals.  Then  he  held  out  his  hand  to  me 
in  token  of  friendship,  bidding  me  to  ''  go  softly  "  and 
come  to  see  him  whenever  I  wished,  and  dismissed  me 


2i8  FINISHED 

in  charge  of  the  induna,  one  of  the  captains  and  some 
soldiers. 

Within  five  minutes  of  reaching  my  hut  I  heard  a 
loud-voiced  crier  proclaiming  the  order  of  the  king 
and  knew  that  I  had  no  more  to  fear. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE   VALLEY   OF   BONES 

The  week  that  followed  my  interview  with  Cete- 
wayo  was  indeed  a  miserable  time  for  me.  For 
myself,  as  I  have  said,  I  had  no  fear,  for  the 
king's  orders  were  strictly  obeyed.  Moreover,  the 
tale  of  what  had  happened  to  the  brute  who  wished  to 
hunt  me  down  in  the  cattle-kraal  had  travelled  far  and 
wide  and  none  sought  to  share  his  fate.  My  hut  was 
inviolate  and  well  supplied  with  necessary  food,  as 
was  my  mare,  and  I  could  wander  where  I  liked  and 
talk  with  whom  I  would.  I  could  even  ride  to  exercise 
the  horse,  though  this  I  did  very  sparingly  and  only  in 
the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  town  for  fear  of 
exciting  suspicion  or  meeting  Zulus  whom  the  king's 
word  had  not  reached.  Indeed  on  these  occasions  I 
was  always  accompanied  by  a  guard  of  swift-footed 
and  armed  soldiers  sent  "  to  protect  me,"  or  more  prob- 
ably to  kill  me  if  I  did  anything  that  seemed  suspicious. 
In  the  course  of  my  rambles  I  met  sundry  natives 
whom  I  had  known  in  the  old  days,  some  of  them  a 
long  while  ago.  They  all  seemed  glad  to  see  me  and 
were  quite  ready  to  talk  of  past  times,  but  of  the  pres- 
ent they  would  say  little  or  nothing,  except  that  they 
were  certain  there  would  be  war.  Of  Anscombe  and 
Heda  I  could  hear  nothing,  and  indeed  did  not  dare  to 
make  any  direct  inquiries  concerning  them,  but  several 
reliable  men  assured  me  that  the  last  missionaries  and 

2X9 


220  FINISHED 

traders  having  departed,  there  was  not  a  white  man, 
woman  or  child  left  in  Zululand  except  myself.  It 
was  "  all  black  "  they  said,  referring  to  the  colour  of 
their  people,  as  it  had  been  before  the  time  of  Chaka. 
So  I  was  forced  to  eat  out  my  heart  with  anxiety  in 
silence,  hoping  and  praying  that  Zikali  had  played  an 
honest  part  and  sent  them  away  safely. 

Why  should  he  not  have  done  so,  seeing  that  it  was 
my  presence  he  had  desired,  not  theirs?  They  were 
only  taken,  or  rather  snared,  because  they  were  with 
me  and  could  not  be  separated,  or  so  I  believed  at  the 
time. 

One  ray  of  comfort  I  did  get.  About  the  fifth  day 
after  my  interview  I  saw  Goza,  who  told  me  that  the 
king's  messengers  were  back  from  the  Black  Kloof  and 
had  brought  "  a  word  "  for  me  from  Zikali  himself. 
The  word  was — 

"  Bid  Goza  say  to  Macumazahn  that  I  was  sorry  not 
to  see  him  to  say  good-bye,  because  that  morning  I 
slept  heavily.  Bid  him  say  that  I  am  glad  he  has  seen 
the  king,  since  for  this  purpose  I  sought  his  presence  in 
Zululand.  Bid  him  say  that  he  is  to  fear  nothing,  and 
that  if  his  heart  is  heavy  about  others  whom  he  loves, 
he  should  make  it  light  again,  since  the  Spirits  have 
them  in  their  keeping  as  they  have  him,  and  never  were 
they  or  he  more  safe  than  they  are  to-day." 

Now  I  looked  at  Goza  and  asked  if  I  could  see  this 
messenger.  He  replied.  No,  as  he  had  already  been 
despatched  upon  another  errand.  Then  I  asked  him  if 
the  messenger  had  said  anything  else.  He  answered, 
Yes,  one  thing  that  he  had  forgotten,  namely  that  the 
writing  about  blankets  should  now  be  in  Natal.  Then 
suddenly  he  changed  the  subject  and  asked  me  if  I 
would  like  to  accompany  him  to  the  Valley  of  Bones 


THE  VALLEY  OF  BONES  221 

where  he  was  ordered  to  inspect  the  huts  which  were 
being  built  for  ZikaH  and  his  people.  Of  course  I  said 
I  should,  hoping,  quite  without  result,  that  I  might  get 
something  more  out  of  him  on  the  road. 

Now  this  town  of  Cetewayo's  stands,  or  rather 
stood,  for  it  has  long  been  burnt,  on  the  slope  of  the 
hills  to  the  north-east  of  the  plains  of  Ulundi.  Above 
it  these  hills  grow  steeper,  and  deep  in  the  recesses  of 
one  of  them  is  the  Valley  of  Bones.  There  is  nothing 
particularly  imposing  about  the  place;  no  towering 
cliffs  or  pillars  of  piled  granite,  as  at  the  Black  Kloof. 
It  is  just  a  vale  cut  out  by  water,  bordered  by  steep 
slopes  on  either  side,  and  a  still  steeper  slope  strewn 
with  large  rocks  at  its  end.  Dotted  here  and  there  on 
these  slopes  grew  tall  aloes  that  from  a  little  distance 
looked  like  scattered  men,  whereof  the  lower  leaves 
were  shrivelled  and  blackened  by  veld  fires.  Also  there 
were  a  few  euphorbias,  grey,  naked-looking  things  that 
end  in  points  like  fingers  on  a  hand,  and  among  them 
some  sparse  thorn  trees,  struggling  to  live  in  an  inhos- 
pitable soil. 

The  place  has  one  peculiarity.  Jutting  into  it  from 
the  hillside  is  a  ridge  or  spur,  sixty  or  seventy  yards  in 
length  by  perhaps  twenty  broad,  that  ends  in  a  fiat 
point  of  rock  which  stands  about  forty  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  rest  of  the  little  valley.  On  this  ridge  also 
grew  tall  aloes  until  near  its  extremity  the  soil  ceased, 
or  had  been  washed  away  from  the  water-worn  core  of 
rock. 

It  was,  and  no  doubt  still  is,  a  desolate-looking  spot, 
at  any  rate  for  most  of  the  day  when  owing  to  the 
shadow  of  the  surrounding  hills,  it  receives  but  little 
sun.  Everything  about  it,  especially  when  I  was  there 
in  a  time  of  rain,  seemed  dank  and  miserable,  although 


222  FINISHED 

the  flat  floor  of  the  kloof  was  clothed  with  a  growth 
of  tall,  coarse  grass,  and  weeds  that  bore  an  evil-smell- 
ing flower.  Perhaps  some  sense  of  appropriateness 
had  caused  the  Zulu  kings  to  choose  this  lonesome, 
deathly-looking  gorge  as  one  of  their  execution 
grounds.  At  any  rate  many  had  been  slain  here,  for 
skulls  and  the  larger  human  bones,  some  of  them  black 
with  age,  lay  all  about  among  the  grass,  as  they  had 
been  scattered  by  hyenas  and  jackals.  They  were  par- 
ticularly thick  beneath  and  around  the  table-like  rock 
that  I  have  mentioned. 

Goza  told  me  that  this  was  because  the  King's  Slay- 
ers made  a  custom  of  dragging  the  victim  along  the 
projecting  tongue  to  the  edge  of  this  rock  and  hurling 
him,  either  dead  or  living,  to  the  ground  beneath;  or, 
in  the  case  of  witches,  driving  them  over  after  they 
had  been  Winded. 

Such  was  the  spot  that  Zikali  had  selected  to  abide 
in  during  his  visit  to  Ulundi.  Certainly  where  privacy 
was  an  object  it  was  well  chosen,  for,  as  Cetewayo 
had  said  and  as  Goza  emphasized  to  me,  it  had  the  re- 
pute of  being  the  most  thoroughly  haunted  place  in  all 
Zululand,  with  the  sole  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  ridge 
opposite  to  Dingaan's  old  kraal  where  once  I  shot  the 
vultures  for  my  life  and  those  of  my  companions.^ 
Even  in  the  daytime  people  gave  it  a  wide  berth,  and  at 
night  nothing  would  induce  them  to  approach  it,  at  any 
rate  alone. 

Here  to  one  side  of  and  near  the  root  of  the  tongue 
of  land  of  which  I  have  spoken,  the  huts  that  Zikali 
had  demanded  for  himself  and  his  company  were  being 
rapidly  built,  close  to  a  spring  of  water,  by  a  large 
body  of  men  who  laboured  as  though  they  wished  to 
'  See  the  book  called  "  Marie,"  by  H.  Rider  Haggard. 


THE  VALLEY  OF  BONES  223 

be  done  with  their  task.  Also  about  half-way  up  the 
donga,  for  really  it  was  nothing  more,  at  a  distance  of 
perhaps  five  and  twenty  paces  from  its  flat  point 
whence  the  condemned  were  hurled,  a  circular  space 
of  ground  had  been  cleared  and  levelled  which  was 
large  enough  to  accommodate  fifty  or  sixty  men.  On 
this  space,  Goza  told  me,  the  king  and  the  Council 
were  to  sit  when  they  came  to  seek  light  from  Zikali. 

In  my  heart  I  reflected  that  the  light  they  were  likely 
to  get  from  him  would  be  such  as  may  be  supposed  to 
be  thrown  by  hell  fire.  For  be  it  remembered  I  knew 
what  these  people  never  seemed  to  understand,  that 
Zikali  was  the  most  bitter  of  their  enemies.  To  begin 
with,  he  was  of  Undwandwe  blood,  one  of  the  people 
whom  the  great  king  Chaka  had  destroyed.  Then  this 
same  Chaka  had  robbed  him  of  his  wives  and  murdered 
his  children,  in  revenge  for  which  he  had  plotted  the 
slaying  of  Chaka,  as  he  did  that  of  his  brothers, 
Umhlangana  and  Dingaan,  the  latter  of  whom  he  in- 
volved in  a  quarrel  with  the  Boers.  Subsequently  he 
brought  about  the  war  between  the  princes  Cetewayo 
and  Umbelazi,  in  which  I  played  a  part. 

Now  I  was  certain  that  he  intended  to  bring  about 
another  war  between  the  English  and  the  Zulus,  know- 
ing well  that  in  the  end  the  latter  would  be  destroyed, 
and  with  them  the  royal  House  of  Senzangacona  which 
he  had  sworn  to  level  with  the  dust.  Had  he  not  told 
me  as  much  years  ago,  and  was  he  one  to  go  back  upon 
his  word  ?  Had  he  not  used  Mameena  with  her  beauty 
and  ambitions  as  his  tool,  and  when  she  was  of  no 
further  service  to  him,  given  her  to  death,  as  he  had 
used  scores  of  others  and  in  due  season  given  them  to 
death?  Was  I  not  myself  perhaps  one  of  those  tools 
destined  to  be  thrown  into  the  pit  of  doom  when  my 


224  FINISHED 

turn  came,  though  in  what  way  I  could  help  his  plots 
was  more  than  I  could  see,  since  he  knew  well  that  I 
should  do  my  best  to  oppose  him?  Oh!  I  had  half  a 
mind  to  go  to  Cetewayo  and  tell  him  all  I  knew 
about  Zikali,  even  if  it  involved  the  breaking  of 
confidences. 

But  stay!  Even  if  I  were  believed,  this  far-seeing 
wizard  held  hostages  for  my  good  behaviour,  and  if  I 
betrayed  him  what  would  happen  to  those  hostages? 
He  sent  me  messages  saying  that  they  Vv^ere  safe,  sug- 
gesting that  they  had  escaped  to  Natal.  How  was  I  to 
know  that  these  were  true  ?  I  was  utterly  bewildered ; 
I  could  not  guess  why  I  had  been  beguiled  into  Zulu- 
land,  and  I  dared  not  step  either  this  way  or  that  for 
fear  lest  I  should  fall  into  some  pit  dug  by  his  cunning 
hands  and,  what  was  worse,  drag  down  others  with  me. 

Moreover,  was  this  man  quite  human,  or  perhaps  an 
emissary  of  Satan  upon  earth  who  had  knowledge 
denied  to  other  men  and  a  certain  mastery  over  the 
Powers  of  111?  Again  I  could  not  say.  His  term  of 
life  seemed  to  be  extraordinarily  prolonged,  though 
none  knew  how  old  exactly  he  might  be.  Also  he  had 
a  wonderful  knowledge  of  what  was  passing  in  the 
minds  of  others,  and  by  his  arts,  as  I  had  experienced 
only  the  other  day,  could  summon  up  apparitions  or 
illusions  before  their  eyes.  Further,  he  was  aware  of 
events  which  had  happened  at  a  distance  and  could 
send  or  read  dreams,  since  otherwise  how  did  Nombe 
know  what  I  had  dreamt  at  Marnham's  house  ?  Lastly 
he  could  foretell  the  future,  as  once  he  had  done  in  my 
own  case,  prophesying  that  I  should  be  injured  by  a 
buflfalo  with  a  split  horn. 

Yet  all  of  this  might  be  nothing  more  than  a  mixture 
of  keen  observation,  clever  spying,  trickery  and  mes- 


THE  VALLEY  OF  BONES  225 

merism.  I  could  not  say  which  it  was,  nor  can  I  with 
certainty  to  this  hour. 

Such  were  the  thoughts  that  passed  through  my 
mind  as  I  walked  back  from  the  Valley  of  Bones  by 
the  side  of  the  big-paunched  Goza,  whom  I  caught  eye- 
ing me  from  time  to  time  as  a  curious  crow  eyes  any 
object  that  has  attracted  his  attention. 

"  Goza,'*  I  said  at  last,  "  do  the  Zulus  really  mean  to 
fight  the  English?" 

He  turned  and  pointed  to  a  spot  where  the  hills  ran 
down  into  the  great  plain.  Here  two  regiments  were 
manoeuvring.  One  of  these  held  the  slopes  of  the  hill 
and  the  other  was  attacking  them  from  the  plain, ,  so 
fiercely  that  at  a  distance  their  onslaught  looked  like 
that  of  actual  warfare. 

"  That  looks  like  fighting,  does  it  not,  Macuma- 
zahn  ?  "  he  replied. 

'*  Yes,  Goza,  yet  it  may  be  but  play." 

"  Quite  so,  Macumazahn.  It  may  be  fighting  or  it 
may  be  but  play.  Am  I  a  prophet  that  I  should  be  able 
to  say  which  it  is?  Of  that  there  is  but  one  man  in 
Zululand  who  knows  the  truth.  It  is  he  for  whom  the 
new  huts  are  being  built  up  yonder." 

"  You  think  he  really  knows,  Goza?  " 

"  No,  Macumazahn,  I  do  not  think,  I  am  sure.  He 
is  the  greatest  of  all  wizards,  as  he  was  when  my  father 
held  on  to  his  mother's  apron.  He  pulls  the  strings  and 
the  Great-ones  of  the  country  dance.  If  he  wishes 
war,  there  will  be  war.  If  he  wishes  peace,  there  will 
be  peace." 

"  And  which  does  he  wish,  Goza  ?  " 

''  I  thought  perhaps  you  could  tell  me  that,  Macu- 
mazahn, who,  he  says,  are  such  an  old  friend  of  his; 
also  why  he  chooses  to  sojourn  in  a  dark  hole  among 


226  FINISHED 

the  dead  instead  of  in  the  sunshine  among  the  living, 
here  at  Ulundi." 

*'  Well,  I  cannot,  Goza,  since  the  Opener  of  Roads 
does  not  open  his  heart  to  me  but  keeps  his  secrets  to 
himself.  For  the  rest,  those  who  talk  with  the  dead 
may  prefer  to  dwell  among  the  dead." 

"  Now  as  always  you  speak  truth,  Macumazahn," 
said  Goza,  looking  at  me  in  a  way  which  suggested  to 
me  that  he  believed  I  spoke  anything  but  the  truth. 

Indeed  I  am  convinced  he  thought  that  I  was  in  the 
council  of  Zikali  and  acquainted  with  his  plans.  Also 
I  am  sure  he  knew  that  I  had  not  come  to  Zululand 
alone,  the  incident  of  the  blankets,  which  I  had  prom- 
ised to  him  as  a  bribe  to  keep  silence,  showed  it,  and 
suspected  that  my  companions  were  parties  to  some 
plot  together  with  myself.  And  yet  at  the  time  I  could 
not  be  quite  sure,  and  therefore  dared  not  ask  anything 
concerning  them  lest  thus  I  should  reveal  their  exist- 
ence and  bring  them  to  death. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  I  need  not  have  been  anxious  on 
this  point,  since  if  Goza,  who  I  may  state,  was  a  kind 
of  secret  service  officer  as  well  as  a  head  messenger, 
knew,  as  I  think  probable,,  he  had  been  commanded  by 
Zikali  to  hold  his  tongue  under  penalty  of  a  curse. 
Perhaps  the  same  was  true  of  the  soldiers  who  had 
come  with  him  to  take  me  to  Ulundi.  The  hint  of 
Zikali  was  as  powerful  as  the  word  of  the  king,  since 
they,  like  thousands  of  others,  believed  that  whereas 
Cetewayo  could  kill  them,  Zikali,  like  Satan,  could 
blast  their  spirits  as  well  as  their  bodies.  But  how 
was  I  to  guess  all  these  things  at  that  time  ? 

During  the  next  two  days  nothing  happened,  though 
I  heard  that  there  had  been  one  if  not  two  meetings 


THE  VALLEY  OF  BONES  227 

of  the  Council  at  the  King's  House  during  which  the 
position  of  affairs  was  discussed.  Cetewayo  I  did  not 
see,  although  twice  he  sent  messengers  to  me  bringing 
gifts  of  food,  who  were  charged  to  inquire  whether  I 
was  well  and  happy  and  if  any  had  offered  me  hurt  or 
insult.  To  these  I  answered  that  I  was  well  and  un- 
molested but  not  happy,  who  grew  lonesome,  being 
but  a  solitary  white  man  among  so  many  thousands  of 
the  Zulus. 

On  the  third  morning,  that  of  the  day  of  the  full 
moon,  Goza  came  and  informed  me  that  Zikali  had 
arrived  at  the  Valley  of  Bones  before  dawn.  I  asked 
him  how  he,  who  was  so  old  and  feeble,  had  walked 
so  far.  He  answered  that  he  had  not  walked,  or  so 
he  understood,  but  had  been  carried  in  a  litter,  or 
rather  in  two  litters,  one  for  himself  and  one  for  his 
"  spirit."  This  staggered  me  even  where  Zikali  was 
concerned,  and  I  inquired  what  on  earth  Goza  meant. 

''Macumazahn,  how  can  I  tell  you  who  only  know 
what  I  myself  am  told?  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Such  is  the 
report  that  the  Opener  of  Roads  has  made  himself  by 
messengers  to  the  king.  None  have  seen  him,  for  he 
journeys  only  in  the  night.  Moreover,  when  Zikali 
passes  all  men  are  blind  and  even  women's  tongues 
grow  dumb.  Perchance  by  '  his  spirit '  he  means  his 
medicine  or  the  witch-doctoress,  Nombe,  whom  folks 
say  he  created,  since  none  have  seen  her  father  or  her 
mother,  or  heard  who  begat  her;  or  perchance  his 
snake  is  hid  behind  the  mats  of  the  second  litter,  if  in 
truth  there  was  one." 

"  It  may  be  so,"  I  said,  feeling  that  it  was  useless  to 
pursue  the  matter.  "  Now,  Goza,  I  would  see  Zikali 
and  at  once." 

"  That  cannot  be,  Macumazahn,  since  he  has  given 


228  FINISHED 

out  that  he  will  see  no  one,  who  rests  after  his  journey, 
and  the  king  has  issued  orders  that  any  who  attempt 
to  approach  the  Valley  of  Bones  shall  die,  even  if  they 
be  of  the  royal  blood.  Yes,  if  so  much  as  a  dog  dares 
to  draw  near  that  place,  it  must  die.  The  soldiers  w^io 
ring  it  round  have  killed  one  already,  so  strict  are  the 
orders,  also  a  boy  who  went  towards  it  searching  for  a 
calf,  which  I  think  a  bad  omen." 

"  Then  I  will  send  a  message  to  him,"  I  persisted. 

"  Do  so,"  mocked  Goza.  ''  Look,  yonder  sails  a  vul- 
ture. Ask  it  to  take  your  message,  for  nothing  else 
will.  Be  not  foolish,  Macumazahn,  but  have  patience, 
for  to-night  you  shall  see  the  Opener  of  Roads  when 
he  attends  the  Council  of  the  king  in  the  Valley  of 
Bones.  This  is  the  order  of  the  king — that  at  the  ris- 
ing of  the  moon  I  lead  you  thither,  so  that  you  may  be 
present  at  the  Council  in  case  he  wishes  to  ask  you  any 
questions  about  the  White  People  or  to  give  you  any 
message  to  the  Government  in  Natal.  Therefore  at 
sunset  I  will  come  for  you.  Till  then,  farewell.  I  have 
business  that  cannot  wait." 

"  Can  I  see  the  king?  "  I  cried. 

"  Not  so,  Macumazahn.  All  to-day  he  makes  sacri- 
fice to  the  spirits  of  his  ancestors  and  must  not  be  ap- 
proached," Goza  called  back  as  he  departed. 

Availing  myself  of  the  permission  of  the  king  to  go 
where  I  would,  a  little  later  in  the  day  I  walked  out  of 
the  town  towards  the  Valley  of  Bones  in  order  to 
ascertain  for  myself  whether  what  Goza  had  told  me 
was  true.  So  it  proved,  for  about  three  hundred  yards 
from  the  mouth  of  the  valley,  which  at  that  distance 
looked  like  a  black  hole  in  the  hills,  I  found  soldiers 
stationed  about  ten  paces  apart  in  a  great  circle  which 
ran  right  up  the  hillside  and  vanished  over  the  crest. 


THE  VALLEY  OF  BONES  229 

Strolling  up  to  one  of  these,  whose  face  I  thought  I 
knew,  I  asked  him  if  he  would  let  me  pass  to  see  my 
friend,  the  Opener  of  Roads. 

The  man,  who  was  something  of  a  humourist,  re- 
plied— 

"  Certainly  if  you  wish,  Macumazahn.  That  is  to 
s^y,  I  will  let  your  spirit  pass,  but  to  do  this,  if  you 
come  one  step  nearer  I  must  first  make  a  hole  in  you 
with  my  spear  out  of  which  it  can  fly." 

I  thanked  him  for  his  information  and  gave  him 
some  snuff,  which  he  took  gratefully,  being  bored  by 
his  long  vigil.  Then  I  asked  him  how  many  people 
the  great  witch-doctor  had  with  him.  He  said  he  did 
not  know,  but  he  had  seen  a  number  of  tall  men  come 
to  the  mouth  of  the  donga  to  fetch  food  that  had  been 
placed  there.  Again  I  inquired  if  he  had  seen  any 
women,  whereon  he  replied  none,  Zikali  being,  he  un- 
derstood, too  old  to  trouble  himself  about  the  other 
sex.  Just  then  an  officer,  making  his  rounds,  came  up 
and  looked  at  me  so  sternly  that  I  thought  it  well  to 
retreat.  Evidently  there  was  no  chance  of  getting 
through  that  line. 

On  my  way  back  I  walked  as  near  the  fence  of  the 
King's  House  as  I  dared,  and  saw  witch-doctors  pass- 
ing in  and  out  in  their  hideous  official  panoply.  This 
told  me  that  here  also  Goza  had  spoken  the  truth — the 
king  was  performing  magical  ceremonies,  which  meant 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  approach  him.  In  every 
direction  I  met  with  failure.  The  Fates  were  against 
me ;  it  lay  over  me  like  a  spell.  Indeed  I  grew  super- 
stitious and  began  to  think  that  Zikali  had  bewitched 
me,  as  he  was  said  to  have  the  power  to  do.  Well, 
perhaps  he  had,  for  the  mere  fact  of  finding  myself 
opposed   by   this   persistent   wall   of    difficulties   and 


230  FINISHED 

silence  convinced  me  that  there  was  something  behind 
it  to  be  learned. 

I  went  back  very  dejected  to  my  hut  and  talked  to 
my  mare  which  whinnied  and  rubbed  its  nose  against 
me,  for  although  it  was  well  fed  and  looked  after,  the 
poor  beast  seemed  as  lonely  as  I  was  myself.  No  won- 
der, since  like  myself  it  was  separated  from  all  its  kind 
and  weary  of  inaction.  After  this  I  ate  and  smoked 
and  finally  dozed,  no  more,  for  whenever  I  tried  to  go 
to  sleep  I  thought  that  I  heard  Zikali  laughing  at  me, 
as  mayhap  he  was  doing  yonder  in  his  hut. 

At  length  that  wearisome  day  drew  towards  its  end. 
The  sun  began  to  sink,  a  huge  red  ball  of  fire,  now  and 
again  veiled  by  clouds,  for  the  sky  was  stormy.  Its 
fierce  rays,  striking  upon  other  clouds,  peopled  the 
enormous  heavens  with  fantastic  shapes  of  light  which 
were  thickest  over  the  hills  wherein  was  the  Valley  of 
Bones.  To  my  strained  mind  these  clouds  looked  like 
battling  armies,  figures  of  flame  warring  against  figures 
of  darkness.  The  darkness  won;  no,  the  light  broke 
out  again  and  conquered  it.  And  see,  there  above  them 
both,  squatted  a  strange  black  presence  crowned  with 
fire.  It  might  have  been  that  of  Zikali  magnified  ten 
thousand  times,  and  hark!  it  laughed  with  the  low 
reverberating  voice  of  distant  thunder. 

Suddenly  I  felt  that  I  was  no  longer  alone  and  look- 
ing round,  saw  Goza  at  my  side. 

"  What  do  you  see  up  there,  Macumazahn,  that  you 
stare  so  hard?  "  he  asked,  pointing  at  the  sky  with  his 
stick. 

**  Impis  fighting,'*  I  answered  briefly. 

"  Then  you  must  be  a  *  heaven-doctor,'  Macuma- 
zahn, for  I  only  see  black  and  red  clouds.  Well,  it  is 
time  to  go  to  learn  whether  or  no  the  impis  will  fight, 


THE  VALLEY  OF  BONES  231 

for  Zikali  waits  us  and  the  Council  has  started  already. 
By  the  way,  the  king  says  that  you  will  do  well  to  put 
your  pistol  in  your  pocket  in  case  any  should  seek  to 
harm  you  in  the  dark." 

"  It  is  there.  But,  Goza,  I  pray  you  to  protect  me, 
since  in  the  dark  bullets  fly  wide,  and  if  I  began  to 
shoot,  one  might  hit  you,  Goza." 

He  smiled,  making  no  answer,  but  I  noticed  that 
during  the  rest  of  that  night  he  was  careful  to  keep 
behind  me  as  much  as  possible. 

Our  way  led  us  through  the  town  where  everybody 
seemed  to  be  standing  about  doing  nothing  and  speak- 
ing very  little.  There  was  a  curious  air  of  expectancy 
upon  their  faces.  They  knew  that  the  crisis  was  at 
hand,  that  their  nation's  fate  hung  upon  the  scales,  and 
they  watched  my  every  look  and  movement  as  though 
in  them  they  expected  to  read  an  omen.  I  too  watched 
them  out  of  the  corners  of  my  eyes,  wondering  whether 
I  should  escape  from  their  savage  company  alive.  If 
once  the  blood  lust  broke  out  among  them,  it 
seemed  to  me  that  I  should  have  about  as  much 
chance  as  a  chopped  fox  among  a  pack  of  hungry 
hounds. 

Once  out  of  the  town  we  saw  no  one  until  we  came 
to  the  circle  of  guards  which  I  have  already  men- 
tioned, who  stood  there  like  an  endless  line  of  black 
statues.  In  answer  to  their  challenge  Goza  gave  some 
complicated  password  in  which  my  name  occurred, 
whereon  they  opened  out  and  let  us  through.  Then 
we  marched  on  to  the  mouth  of  the  kloof.  The  place 
was  very  dark,  for  now  the  sun  was  down  in  the 
west  and  the  moon  in  the  east  was  cut  off  from  us 
by  the  hills  and  would  not  be  visible  here  for  half  an 
hour  or  more.     Presently  I  saw  a  spot  of  light.     It 


232  FINISHED 

was  a  small  fire  burning  near  the  tongue  of  rock 
which  I  have  described. 

At  a  distance,  in  front  of  the  fire  on  the  patch  of 
prepared  ground,  squatted  a  number  of  men,  between 
twenty  and  thirty  of  them,  in  a  semicircle.  They 
were  wrapped  up  in  karosses  and  blankets,  and  in 
their  centre  sat  a  large  figure  on  a  chair  of  wood. 

"The  King  and  the  Great  Council,"  whispered 
Goza. 

One  of  them  looked  round  and  saw  us.  At  some 
sign  from  the  king  he  rose,  and  against  the  fire  I  saw 
that  he  was  the  Prime  Minister,  Umnyamana.  He 
came  to  me  and,  with  a  nod  of  recognition,  conducted 
me  some  paces  to  the  right  where  a  euphorbia  tree 
grew  among  the  rank  herbage.  Here  I  found  a  stool 
placed  ready  on  which  I  sat  down,  Goza,  who  of 
course  was  not  of  the  Council,  squatting  at  my  side 
in  the  grass. 

Now  I  found  that  I  was  so  situated  that  I  could 
not  well  be  seen  from  the  fire,  or  even  from  the  rock 
above  it,  while  I,  by  moving  my  head  a  little,  could 
see  both  quite  clearly.  After  this  as  the  last  reflection 
from  the  sunk  sun  faded,  the  darkness  increased  until 
nothing  remained  visible  except  the  fire  and  the 
massive  outline  of  the  rock  behind.  The  silence  was 
complete,  for  none  of  the  Council  spoke.  They  were 
so  still  that  they  might  have  been  dead,  so  still  that 
a  beetle  suddenly  booming  past  me  made  me  start  as 
though  it  had  been  a  bullet.  The  general  impression 
was  almost  mesmeric.  I  felt  as  though  I  were  going 
to  sleep  and  yet  my  mind  remained  painfully  awake, 
so  that  I  was  able  to  think  things  out. 

I  understood  clearly  that  the  body  of  men  to  my 
left  had  come  together  to  decide  whether  there  should 


THE  VALLEY  OF  BONES  233 

be  peace  or  war;  that  there  were  divisions  of  opinion 
among  them;  that  the  king  was  ready  to  follow  the 
party  which  should  prove  itself  the  strongest,  but  that 
the  real  voice  of  decision  would  speak  from  behind 
that  fire.  It  was  the  case  of  the  Delphic  Oracle  over 
again  with  a  priest  instead  of  a  priestess,  and  what  a 
priest ! 

It  was  evident  to  me  also  that  Zikali,  who  knew 
human  nature,  and  especially  savage  human  nature, 
had  arranged  all  this  with  a  view  to  scenic  and  indeed 
supernatural  effect.  Moreover,  he  had  done  it  very 
well,  since  I  knew  myself  that  in  this  place  and  hour 
words  and  occurrences  would  affect  me  deeply  at 
which  I  should  have  laughed  in  the  sunlight  and  open 
plain.  Already  the  Zulus  were  affected,  for  I  could 
hear  the  teeth  of  some  of  them  chattering,  and  Goza 
began  to  shiver  at  my  side.  He  muttered  that  it  was 
cold,  and  lied  for  the  donga  was  extremely  hot  and 
stuffy. 

At  length  the  silver  radiance  of  the  moon  spread 
itself  on  the  high  curtain  of  the  dark.  Then  the  edge 
of  her  orb  appeared  above  the  hill  and  an  arrow  of 
white  light  fell  into  the  little  valley.  It  struck  upon 
and  about  the  jutting  rock,  revealing  a  misshapen, 
white-headed  figure  squatted  between  its  base  and  the 
fire,  the  figure  of  Zikali. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   GREAT   COUNCIL 

None  had  seen  or  heard  him  come,  and  though  doubt- 
less he  had  but  crept  round  the  rock  and  taken  his 
place  in  the  darkness,  there  appeared  to  be  something 
mysterious  about  this  sudden  appearance  of  Zikali. 
So  the  Zulu  nobles  thought  at  any  rate,  for  they  uttered 
a  low  Ow!  of  fear  and  wonder. 

There  he  sat  like  a  huge  ape  staring  at  the  sky,  for 
the  firelight  shone  on  his  deep  and  burning  eyes.  The 
moonlight  increased,  but  now  and  again  it  was  broken 
by  little  clouds  which  caused  strange  shadows  to  ap- 
pear about  the  rock.  Some  of  these  shadows  looked 
as  though  veiled  figures  were  approaching  the  wizard, 
bending  over  him  and  departing  again,  after  giving 
him  their  message  or  counsel. 

"  His  Spirits  visit  him/'  whispered  Goza,  but  I  made 
no  answer. 

This  went  on  for  quite  a  long  time,  until  the  full 
round  of  the  moon  appeared  above  the  hill  indeed, 
and,  for  the  while,  the  clouds  had  cleared  away.  Still 
Zikali  sat  silent  and  I,  who  was  acquainted  with  the 
habits  of  this  people,  knew  that  I  was  witnessing  a  con- 
flict between  two  whom  they  considered  to  be  respec- 
tively a  spiritual  and  an  earthly  king.  It  is  my  belief 
that  unless  he  were  first  addressed,  Zikali  would  have 
sat  all  night  without  opening  his  lips.  Possibly  Cete- 
wayo  would  have  done  the  same  if  the  impatience  of 

234 


THE  GREAT  COUNCIL  235 

public  opinion  had  allowed  him.  At  any  rate  it  was  he 
who  gave  way. 

"  Makosi,  master  of  many  Spirits,  on  behalf  of  the 
Council  and  the  People  of  the  Zulus  I,  the  King,  greet 
you  here  in  the  place  that  you  have  chosen,"  said 
Cetewayo. 

Zikali  made  no  answer. 

The  silence  went  on  as  before,  till  at  length,  after  a 
pause  and  some  whispering,  Cetewayo  repeated  his 
salutation,  adding — 

"  Has  age  made  you  deaf,  O  Opener  of  Roads,  that 
you  cannot  hear  the  voice  of  the  King?" 

Then  at  last  Zikali  answered  in  his  low  voice  that 
yet  seemed  to  fill  all  the  kloof — 

"  Nay,  Child  of  Senzangacona,  age  has  not  made 
me  deaf,  but  my  spirit  in  these  latter  days  floats  far 
from  my  body.  It  is  like  a  bladder  filled  with  air  that 
a  child  holds  by  a  string,  and  before  I  can  speak  I 
must  draw  it  from  the  heavens  to  earth  again.  What 
did  you  say  about  the  place  that  I  have  chosen?  Well, 
what  better  place  could  I  choose,  seeing  that  it  was 
here  in  this  very  Valley  of  Bones  that  I  met  the  first 
king  of  the  Zulus,  Chaka  the  Wild  Beast,  who  was 
your  uncle  ?  Why  then  should  I  not  choose  it  to  meet 
the  last  king  of  the  Zulus?" 

Now  I,  listening,  knew  at  once  that  this  saying 
might  be  understood  in  two  ways,  namely  that  Cete- 
wayo was  the  reigning  king,  or  that  he  was  the  last 
king  who  would  ever  reign.  But  the  Council  inter- 
preted it  in  the  latter  and  worse  sense,  for  I  saw  a 
quiver  of  fear  go  through  them. 

"  Why  should  I  not  choose  it,"  went  on  Zikali, 
"seeing  also  that  this  place  is  holy  to  me?  Here  it 
was,  O  Son  of  Panda,  that  Chaka  brought  my  children 


236  FINISHED 

to  be  killed  and  forced  me,  sitting  where  you  sit,  to 
watch  their  deaths.  There  on  the  rock  above  me  they 
were  killed,  four  of  them,  three  sons  and  a  daughter, 
and  the  slayers — they  came  to  an  evil  end,  those  slay- 
ers, as  did  Chaka — laughed  and  cast  them  down  from 
the  rock  before  me.  Yes,  and  Chaka  laughed,  and  I 
too  laughed,  for  had  not  the  king  the  right  to  kill  my 
children  and  to  steal  their  mothers,  and  was  I  not  glad 
that  they  should  be  taken  from  the  world  and  gathered 
to  that  of  Spirits  whence  they  always  talk  to  me,  yes, 
even  now?  That  is  why  I  did  not  hear  you  at  first, 
King,  because  they  were  talking  to  me." 

He  paused,  turning  one  ear  upwards,  then  continued 
in  a  new  and  tender  voice,  *'  What  is  it  you  say  to  me. 
Noma,  my  dear  little  Noma  ?  Oh !  I  hear  you,  I  hear 
you.'* 

Now  he  shifted  himself  along  the  ground  on  his 
haunches  some  paces  to  the  right,  and  began  to  search 
about,  groping  with  his  long  fingers.  "  Where, 
where?"  he  muttered.  "Oh,  I  understand,  further 
under  the  root,  a  jackal  buried  it,  did  it?  Pah!  how 
hard  is  this  soil.  Ah!  I  have  it,  but  look,  Noma,  a 
stone  has  cut  my  finger.  I  have  it,  I  have  it,"  and 
from  beneath  the  root  of  some  fallen  tree  he  drew 
out  the  skull  of  a  child,  and  holding  it  in  his  right 
hand,  softly  rubbed  the  mould  off  it  with  his  left. 

"  Yes,  Noma,  it  might  be  yours,  it  is  of  the  right 
size,  but  how  can  I  be  sure?  What  is  it  you  say? 
The  teeth?  Ah!  now  I  remember.  Only  the  day 
before  you  were  taken  I  pulled  out  that  front  tooth, 
did  I  not,  and  beneath  it  was  another  that  was  strangely 
split  in  two.  If  this  skull  was  yours,  it  will  be  there. 
Come  to  the  fire,  Noma,  and  let  us  look;  the  moonlight 
is  faint,  is  it  not?" 


THE  GREAT  COUNCIL  237 

Back  to  the  fire  he  shifted  himself,  and  bending 
towards  the  blaze,  made  an  examination. 

"  True,  Noma,  true !  Here  is  the  split  tooth,  white 
as  when  I  saw  it  all  those  years  ago.  Oh !  dear  child 
of  my  body,  dear  child  of  my  spirit,  for  we  do  not 
beget  with  the  body  alone,  Noma,  as  you  know  better 
than  I  do  to-day,  I  greet  you,"  and  pressing  the  skull 
to  his  lips,  he  kissed  it,  then  set  it  down  in  front  of 
him  between  himself  and  the  fire  with  the  face  part 
pointing  to  the  king,  and  burst  into  one  of  his  eerie 
and  terrible  laughs. 

A  low  moan  went  up  from  his  audience,  and  I  felt 
the  skin  of  Goza,  who  had  shrunk  against  me,  break 
into  a  profuse  sweat.  Then  suddenly  Zikali's  voice 
changed  once  more  and  became  hard  and  businesslike, 
if  I  may  call  it  so,  similar  to  that  of  other  professional 
doctors. 

"  You  have  sent  for  me,  O  King,  as  those  who  went 
before  you  have  sent  when  great  things  were  about  to 
happen.  What  is  the  matter  on  which  you  would 
speak  to  me?" 

"  You  know  well,  Opener  of  Roads,"  answered 
Cetewayo,  rather  shakily  I  thought.  *'  The  matter  is 
one  of  peace  or  war.  The  English  threaten  me  and 
my  people  and  make  great  demands  on  me;  amongst 
others  that  the  army  should  be  disbanded.  I  can  set 
them  all  out  if  you  will.  If  I  refuse  to  do  as  they  bid 
me,  then  within  a  few  days  they  will  invade  Zululand; 
indeed  their  soldiers  are  already  gathered  at  the 
drifts." 

"  It  is  not  needful,  King,"  answered  Zikali,  "  since 
I  know  what  all  know,  neither  more  nor  less.  The 
winds  whisper  the  demands  of  the  white  men,  the 
birds  sing  them,  the  hyenas  howl  them  at  night.     Let 


238  FINISHED 

us  see  how  the  matter  stands.  When  your  father  died 
Sompseu  (Sir  T.  Shepstone),  the  great  white  chief, 
came  from  the  Enghsh  Government  to  name  you  king. 
This  he  could  not  do  according  to  our  law,  since  how 
can  a  stranger  name  the  King  of  the  Zulus  ?  Therefore 
the  Council  of  the  Nation  and  the  doctors— I  was  not 
among  them,  King — moved  the  spirit  of  Chaka  the 
Lion  into  the  body  of  Sompseu  and  made  him  as  Chaka 
was  and  gave  him  power  to  name  you  to  rule  over 
the  Zulus.  So  it  came  about  that  to  the  English  Queen 
through  the  spirit  of  Chaka  you  swore  certain  things ; 
that  slaying  for  witchcraft  should  be  abolished;  that 
no  man  should  die  without  fair  and  open  trial,  and 
other  matters." 

He  paused  a  while,  then  went  on,  "  These  oaths  you 
have  broken,  O  King,  as  being  of  the  blood  you  are  and 
what  you  are,  you  must  do." 

Here  there  was  disturbance  among  the  Council  and 
Cetewayo  half  rose  from  his  seat,  then  sat  down 
again.  Zikali,  gazing  at  the  sky,  waited  till  it  had 
died  away,  then  went  on — 

"  Do  any  question  my  words?  If  so,  then  let  them 
ask  of  the  white  men  whether  they  be  true  or  no.  Let 
them  ask  also  of  the  spirits  of  those  who  have  died 
for  witchcraft,  and  of  the  spirits  of  the  women  who 
have  been  slain  and  whose  bodies  were  laid  at  the 
cross-roads  because  they  married  the  men  they  chose 
and  not  the  soldiers  to  whom  the  king  gave 
them." 

"  How  can  I  ask  the  white  men  who  are  far  away?" 
broke  out  Cetewayo,  ignoring  the  rest. 

"  Are  the  white  men  so  far  away,  King?  It  is  true 
that  I  see  none  and  hear  none,  yet  I  seem  to  smell  one 
of  them  close  at  hand."     Here  he  took  up  the  skull 


THE  GREAT  COUNCIL  239 

which  he  had  laid  down  and  whispered  to  it.  "  Ah ! 
I  thank  you,  my  child.  It  seems,  King,  that  there 
is  a  white  man  here  hidden  in  this  kloof,  he  who  is 
named  Macumazahn,  a  good  man  and  a  truthful, 
known  to  many  of  us  from  of  old,  who  can  tell  you 
what  his  people  think,  though  he  is  not  one  of 
their  indunas.  If  you  question  my  words,  ask 
him." 

*'  We  know  what  the  white  men  think,"  said  Cete- 
wayo,  "  so  there  is  no  need  to  ask  Macumazahn  to  sing 
us  an  old  song.  The  question  is — what  must  the  Zulus 
do?  Must  they  swallow  their  spears  and,  ceasing  to 
be  a  nation,  become  servants,  or  must  they  strike  with 
them  and  drive  the  English  into  the  sea,  and  after 
them  the  Boers?" 

"  Tell  me  first,  King,  who  dwell  far  away  and  alone, 
knowing  little  of  what  passes  in  the  land  of  Life,  what 
the  Zulus  desire  to  do.  Before  me  sits  the  Great 
Council  of  the  Nation.    Let  it  speak." 

Then  one  by  one  the  members  of  the  Council  uttered 
their  opinions  in  order  of  rank  or  seniority.  I  do  not 
remember  the  names  of  all  who  were  present,  or  what 
each  of  them  said.  I  recall,  however,  that  Sigananda, 
a  very  old  chief — he  must  have  been  over  ninety — 
spoke  the  first.  He  told  them  that  he  had  been  a  friend 
of  Chaka  and  one  of  his  captains,  and  had  fought  in 
most  of  his  battles.  That  afterwards  he  had  been  a 
general  of  Dingaan's  until  that  king  killed  the  Boers 
under  Retief,  when  he  left  him  and  finally  sided  with 
Panda  in  the  civil  war  in  which  Dingaan  was  killed 
with  the  help  of  the  Boers.  That  he  had  been  present 
at  the  battle  of  the  Tugela,  though  he  took  no  actual 
part  in  the  fighting,  and  afterwards  became  a  coun- 
cillor of  Panda's  and  then  of  Cetewayo  his  son.     It 


240  FINISHED 

was  a  long  and  interesting  historical  recital  covering 
the  whole  period  of  the  Zulu  monarchy  which  ended 
suddenly  with  these  words — 

"  I  have  noted,  O  King  and  Councillors,  that  when- 
ever the  black  vulture  of  the  Zulus  was  content  to  at- 
tack birds  of  his  own  feather,  he  has  conquered.  But 
when  he  has  met  the  grey  eagles  of  the  white  men, 
which  come  from  over  the  sea,  he  has  been  conquered, 
and  my  heart  tells  me  that  as  it  was  in  the  past,  so  it 
shall  be  in  the  future.  Chaka  was  a  friend  of  the 
English,  so  was  Panda,  and  so  has  Cetewayo  been  until 
this  hour.  I  say,  therefore,  let  not  the  King  tear  the 
hand  which  fed  him  because  it  seems  weak,  lest  it 
should  grow  strong  and  clutch  him  by  the  throat  and 
choke  him." 

Next  spoke  Undabuko,  Dabulamanzi  and  Magwenga, 
brothers  of  the  king,  who  all  favoured  war,  though  the 
two  last  were  guarded  in  their  speech.  After  these 
came  Uhamu,  the  king's  uncle — he  who  was  said  to  be 
the  son  of  a  Spirit — who  was  strong  for  peace,  urging 
that  the  king  should  submit  to  the  demands  of  the 
English,  making  the  best  terms  he  could,  that  he 
"  should  bend  like  a  reed  before  the  storm,  so  that 
after  the  storm  had  swept  by,  he  might  stand  up 
straight  again,  and  with  him  all  the  other  reeds  of  the 
people  of  the  Zulus.'* 

So,  too,  said  Seketwayo,  chief  of  the  Umdhlalosi, 
and  more  whom  I  cannot  recall,  six  or  seven  of  them. 
But  Usibebu  and  the  induna  Untshingwayo,  who  af- 
terwards commanded  at  Isandhlwana,  were  for  fight- 
ing, as  were  Sirayo,  the  husband  of  the  two  women 
who  had  been  taken  on  English  territory  and  killed, 
and  Umbilini,  the  chief  of  Swazi  blood  whose  sur- 
render was  demanded  by  Sir  Bartle  Frere  and  who 


THE  GREAT  COUNCIL  241 

afterwards  commanded  the  Zulus  in  the  battle  at 
Ihlobane.  Last  of  all  spoke  the  Prime  Minister, 
'Umnyamana,  who  declared  fiercely  that  if  the  Zulu 
buffalo  hid  itself  in  the  swamp  like  a  timid  calf  when 
the  white  bull  challenged  it  on  the  hills,  the  spirits  of 
Chaka  and  all  his  forefathers  would  thrust  its  head 
into  the  mud  and  choke  it. 

When  all  had  finished  Cetewayo  spoke,  saying — 

"  That  is  a  bad  council  which  has  two  voices,  for  to 
which  of  them  must  the  Captain  lis'ten  when  the  impis 
of  the  foe  gather  in  front  of  him?  Here  I  have  sat 
while  the  moon  climbs  high  and  counted,  and  what  do 
I  find?  That  one  half  of  you,  men  of  wisdom  and  re- 
nown, say  Yes,  and  that  the  other  half  of  you,  men  of 
wisdom  and  renown,  say  No.  Which  then  is  it  to  be. 
Yes  or  No?  Are  we  to  fight  the  English,  or  are  we 
to  sit  still?'' 

"  That  is  for  the  king  to  decide,"  said  a 
voice. 

"  See  what  it  is  to  be  a  king,"  went  on  Cetewayo 
with  passion.  ''  If  I  declare  for  war  and  we  win, 
shall  I  be  greater  than  I  am?  If  victory  gives  me 
more  land,  more  subjects,  more  wives  and  more  cattle, 
what  is  the  use  of  these  things  to  me  who  already 
have  enough  of  all  of  them  ?  And  if  defeat  should  take 
everything  from  me,  even  my  life  perhaps,  then  what 
shall  I  have  gained?  I  will  tell  you — the  curse  of  the 
Zulus  upon  my  name  from  father  to  son  for  ever. 
They  will  say,  '  Cetewayo,  son  of  Panda,  pulled  down 
a  House  that  once  was  great.  Because  of  some  small 
matter  he  quarrelled  with  the  English  who  were  al- 
ways the  friends  of  our  people,  and  brought  the  Zulus 
to  the  dust.'  Sintwangu,  my  messenger,  who  brought 
heavy  words  from  the  Queen's  induna  which  we  must 


242  FINISHED 

answer  with  other  words  or  with  spears,  says  that  the 
EngHsh  soldiers  in  Natal  are  few,  so  few  that  we 
Zulus  can  swallow  them  like  bits  of  meat  and  still  be 
hungry.  But  are  these  all  the  soldiers  of  the  English? 
I  am  not  sure.  You  are  one  of  that  people,  Macuma- 
zahn,"  he  added,  turning  his  massive  shape  towards 
me,  ''  tell  us  now,  how  many  soldiers  has  your 
Queen  ? " 

"  King,"  I  answered,  "  I  do  not  know  for  certain. 
But  if  the  Zulus  can  muster  fifty  thousand  spears,  the 
Queen,  if  there  be  need,  can  send  against  them  ten 
times  fifty  thousand,  and  if  she  grows  angry,  another 
ten  times  fifty,  every  one  armed  with  a  rifle  that  will 
fire  five  bullets  a  minute,  and  to  accompany  the  sol- 
diers, hundreds  of  cannon  whereof  a  single  shot  would 
give  Ulundi  to  the  flames.  Out  of  the  sea  they  will 
come,  shipload  after  shipload,  white  men  from 
where  the  sun  sets  and  black  men  from  where  the 
sun  rises,  so  many  that  Zululand  would  not  hold 
them." 

Now  at  these  words,  which  I  delivered  as  grandly 
as  I  could,  something  like  a  groan  burst  from  the 
Council,  though  one  man  cried — 

"  Do  not  listen  to  the  white  traitor,  O  King,  who  is 
sent  here  to  turn  our  hearts  to  water  with  his 
lies." 

''  Macumazahn  may  lie  to  us,"  went  on  Cetewayo, 
"  though  in  the  past  none  in  the  land  have  ever  known 
him  to  lie,  but  he  was  not  sent  to  do  so,  for  I  brought 
him  here.  For  my  part  I  do  not  believe  that  he  lies. 
I  believe  that  these  English  are  as  many  as  the  pebbles 
in  a  river  bed,  and  that  to  them  Natal,  yes,  and  all  the 
Cape,  is  but  as  a  single,  outlying  cattle-kraal,  one 
cattle-kraal  out  of  a  hundred.    Did  not  Sompseu  once 


THE  GREAT  COUNCIL  243 

tell  us  that  they  were  countless,  oh  that  day  when  he 
came  many  years  ago  after  the  battle  of  the  Tugela 
to  name  me  to  succeed  my  father  Panda,  the  day 
when  my  faction,  the  Usutu,  roared  round  him  for 
hours  like  a  river  in  flood,  and  he  sat  still  like  a  rock 
in  the  centre  of  a  river?  Also  I  am  minded  of  the 
words  that  Chaka  said  when  Dingaan  and  Umbopa  had 
stabbed  him  and  he  lay  dying  at  the  kraal  Duguza, 
that  although  the  dogs  of  his  own  House  whom  his 
hand  fed,  had  eaten  him  up,  he  heard  the  sound  of 
the  running  of  the  feet  of  a  great  white  people  that 
should  stamp  them  and  the  Zulus  flat." 

He  paused;  and  the  silence  was  so  intense  that  the 
crackling  of  ZikaH's  fire,  which  kept  on  burning 
brightly  although  I  saw  no  fuel  added  to  it,  sounded 
quite  loud.  Presently  it  was  broken,  first  by  a  dog 
near  at  hand,  howling  horribly  at  the  moon,  and  next 
by  the  hooting  of  a  great  owl  that  flitted  across  the 
donga,  the  shadow  of  its  wide  wings  falling  for  a 
moment  on  the  king. 

*'  Listen !"  exclaimed  Cetewayo,  "  a  dog  that  howls  1 
Methinks  that  it  stands  upon  the  roof  of  the  House  of 
Senzangacona.  And  an  owl  that  hoots.  Methinks 
that  owl  has  its  nest  in  the  world  of  spirits !  Are  these 
good  omens,  Councillors?  I  trow  not.  I  say  that  I 
will  not  decide  this  matter  of  peace  or  war.  If  there 
is  one  of  my  own  blood  here  who  will  do  so,  come, 
let  him  take  my  place  and  let  me  go  away  to  my  own 
lordship  of  Gikazi  that  I  had  when  I  was  a  prince  be- 
fore the  witch  Mameena  who  played  with  all  men  and 
loved  but  one  " — here  everybody  turned  and  stared 
towards  me,  yes,  even  Zikali  whom  nothing  else  had 
seemed  to  move,  till  I  wished  that  the  ground  would 
swallow  me  up — "  caused  the  war  between  me  and 


244  FINISHED 

my  brother  Umbelazi  whose  blood  earth  will  not  swal- 
low nor  suns  dry " 

"  How  can  that  be,  O  King?"  broke  in  Umnyamana 
the  Prime  Minister.  "  How  can  any  of  your  race  sit 
in  your  seat  while  you  still  live?  Then  indeed  there 
would  be  war,  war  between  tribe  and  tribe  and  Zulu 
and  Zulu  till  none  were  left,  and  the  white  hyenas  from 
Natal  would  come  and  chew  our  bones  and  with  them 
the  Boers  that  have  passed  the  Vaal.  See  now.  Why 
is  this  Nyanga  (i.e.  witch-doctor)  here?"  and  he 
pointed  to  Zikali  beyond  the  fire.  "  Why  has  the 
Opener  of  Roads  been  brought  from  the  Black  Kloof 
which  he  has  not  left  for  years?  Is  it  not  that  he 
may  give  us  counsel  in  our  need  and  show  us  a  sign 
that  his  counsel  is  good,  whether  it  be  for  war  or 
peace  ?  Then  when  he  has  made  divination  and  given 
the  counsel  and  shown  the  sign,  then,  O  King,  do  you 
speak  the  word  of  war  or  peace,  and  send  it  to  the 
Queen  by  yonder  white  man,  and  by  that  word  we, 
the  people,  will  abide." 

At  this  suggestion,  which  I  had  no  doubt  was  made 
by  some  secret  agreement  between  Umnyamana  and 
Zikali,  Cetewayo  seemed  to  grasp.  Perhaps  this  was 
because  it  postponed  for  a  little  while  the  dreadful 
moment  of  decision,  or  perhaps  because  he  hoped  that 
in  the  eyes  of  the  nation  it  would  shift  the  responsi- 
bility from  his  shoulders  to  those  of  the  Spirits  speak- 
ing through  the  lips  of  their  prophet.  At  any  rate  he 
nodded  and  answered — 

"  It  is  so.  Let  the  Opener  of  Roads  open  us  a  road 
through  the  forests  and  the  swamps  and  the  rocks  of 
doubt,  danger  and  fear.  Let  him  give  us  a  sign  that 
it  is  a  good  road  on  which  we  may  safely  travel,  and 
let  him  tell  us  whether  I  shall  live  to  walk  that  road 


THE  GREAT  COUNCIL  245 

and  what  I  shall  meet  thereon.  I  promise  him  in  re- 
turn the  greatest  fee  that  ever  yet  was  paid  to  a  doctor 
in  Zululand." 

Now  ZikaH  Hfted  his  big  head,  shook  his  grey  locks, 
and  opening  his  wide  mouth  as  though  he  expected 
manna  to  fall  into  it  from  the  sky,  he  laughed  out 
loud. 

"  0-ho-Jio/'  he  laughed,  ''  Oho-ho-ho-o,  it  is  worth 
while  to  have  lived  so  long  when  life  has  brought  me 
to  such  an  hour  as  this.  What  is  it  that  my  ears  hear? 
That  I,  the  Indwande  dwarf,  I  whom  Chaka  named 
*  The-Thing-that-never-should-have-been-born,'  I,  one 
of  the  race  conquered  and  despised  by  the  Zulus,  am 
here  to  speak  a  word  which  the  Zulus  dare  not  utter, 
which  the  King  of  the  Zulus  dares  not  utter. 
0-ho-ho-ho!  And  what  does  the  King  offer  to  me? 
A  fee,  a  great  fee  for  the  word  that  shall  paint  the 
Zulus  red  with  blood  or  white  with  the  slime  of  shame. 
Nay,  I  take  no  fee  that  is  the  price  of  blood  or  shame. 
Before  I  speak  that  word  unknown — for  as  yet  my 
heart  has  not  heard  it,  and  what  the  heart  has  not 
heard  the  lips  cannot  shape — I  ask  but  one  thing. 
It  is  an  oath,  that  whatever  follows  on  the  word,  while 
there  is  a  Zulu  left  living  in  the  world,  I,  the  Voice  of 
the  Spirits  shall  be  safe  from  hurt  or  from  reproach, 
I  and  those  of  my  House  and  those  over  whom  I  throw 
my  blanket,  be  they  black  or  be  they  white.  That  is 
my  fee,  without  which  I  am  silent." 

"  I^wa!  We  hear  you.  We  swear  it  on  behalf  of 
the  people,'*  said  every  councillor  in  the  semicircle  in 
front  of  him;  yes,  and  the  king  said  it  also,  stretching 
out  his  hand. 

*'  Good,"  said  ZikaH,  ''  it  is  an  oath,  it  is  an  oath, 
sworn  here  upon  the  bones  of  the  dead.     Evil-doers 


246  FINISHED 

you  call  them,  but  I  say  to  you  that  many  of  those 
who  sit  before  me  have  more  evil  in  their  hearts 
than  had  those  dead.  Well,  let  it  be  proclaimed,  O 
King,  and  with  it  this — that  ill  shall  it  go  with  him 
who  breaks  the  oath,  with  his  family,  with  his  kraal 
and  all  with  whom  he  has  to  do. 

"Now  what  is  it  you  ask  of  me?  First  of  all, 
counsel  as  to  whether  you  should  fight  the  English 
Queen,  a  matter  on  which  you,  the  Great  Ones,  are 
evenly  divided  in  opinion,  as  is  the  nation  behind  you. 

0  King,  Indunas,  and  Captains,  who  am  I  that  I  should 
judge  of  such  a  matter  which  is  beyond  my  trade,  a 
matter  of  the  world  above  and  of  men's  bodies,  not  of 
the  world  below  and  of  men's  spirits?  Yet  there  was 
one  who  made  the  Zulu  people  out  of  nothing,  as  a 
potter  fashions  a  vessel  from  clay,  as  a  smith  fashions 
an  assegai  out  of  the  ore  of  the  hills,  yes,  and  tempers 
it  with  human  blood.^  Chaka  the  Lion,  the  Wild 
Beast,  the  King  among  Kings,  the  Conqueror.  I  knew 
Chaka  as  I  knew  his  father,  yes,  and  his  father.  Others 
still  living  knew  him  also,  say  you,  Sigananda  there 
for  instance,"  and  he  pointed  to  the  old  chief  who  had 
spoken  first.  ''  Yes,  Sigananda  knew  him  as  a  boy 
knows  a  great  man,  as  a  soldier  knows  a  general.   But 

1  knew  his  heart,  aye,  I  shaped  his  heart,  I  was  its 
thought.  Had  it  not  been  for  me  he  would  never  have 
been  great.  Then  he  wronged  me " — here  Zikali 
took  up  the  skull  which  he  said  was  that  of  his  daugh- 
ter, and  stroked  it — '*  and  I  left  him. 

"  He  was  not  wise,  he  should  have  killed  one  whom 
he  had  wronged,  but  perhaps  he  knew  that  I  could 
not  be  killed;  perhaps  he  had  tried  and  found  that  he 

*  The  old  Zulu  smiths  dipped  their  choicest  blades  in  the  blood 
of  men. — A.  Q, 


THE  GREAT  COUNCIL  247 

was  but  throwing  spears  at  the  moon  which  fell  back 
on  his  own  head.  I  forget.  It  is  so  long  ago,  and 
what  does  it  matter?  At  least  I  took  away  from  him 
the  prop  of  my  wisdom,  and  he  fell — to  rise  no  more. 
And  so  it  has  been  with  others.  So  it  has  been  with 
others.  Yet  while  he  was  great  I  knew  his  heart  who 
lived  in  his  heart,  and  therefore  I  ask  myself,  had  he 
been  sitting  where  the  King  sits  to-day,  what  would 
Chaka  have  done?  I  will  tell  you.  If  not  only  the 
English  but  the  Boers  also  and  with  them  the  Pondos, 
the  Basutos  and  all  the  tribes  of  Africa  had  threat- 
ened him,  he  would  have  fought  them — yes,  and  set 
his  heel  upon  their  necks.  Therefore,  although  I  give 
no  counsel  upon  such  a  matter,  I  say  to  you  that  the 
counsel  of  Chaka  is — fight — and  conquer.  Hearken 
to  it  or  pass  it  by — I  care  not  which." 

He  paused  and  a  loud  "  Ozv  "  of  wonder  and  ad- 
miration rose  from  his  audience.  Myself  I  nearly 
joined  in  it,  for  I  thought  this  one  of  the  cleverest  bits 
of  statecraft  that  ever  I  had  heard  of  or  seen.  The 
old  wizard  had  taken  no  responsibility  and  given  no 
answer  to  the  demand  for  advice.  All  this  he  had 
thrust  on  to  the  shoulders  of  a  dead  man,  and  that 
man  one  whose  name  was  magical  to  every  Zulu,  the 
king  whose  memory  they  adored,  the  great  General 
who  had  gorged  them  with  victory  and  power.  Speak- 
ing as  Chaka,  after  a  long  period  of  peace,  he  urged 
them  once  more  to  lift  their  spears  and  know  the  joys 
of  triumph,  thereby  making  themselves  the  greatest 
nation  in  Southern  Africa.  From  the  moment  I  heard 
this  cunning  appeal,  I  know  what  the  end  would  be; 
all  the  rest  was  but  of  minor  and  semi-personal  in- 
terest. I  knew  also  for  the  first  time  how  truly  great 
;yvas  Zikali  and  wondered  what  he  might  have  become 


248  FINISHED 

had  Fortune  set  him  in  different  circumstances  among 
a  civiHzed  people. 

Now  he  was  speaking  again,  and  quickly  before  the 
impression  died  away. 

''  Such  is  the  word  of  Chaka  spoken  by  me  who  was 
his  secret  councillor,  the  Councillor  who  was  seldom 
seen,  and  never  heard.  Does  not  Sigananda  yonder 
know  the  voice  which  amongst  all  those  present  echoes 
in  his  ears  alone?" 

''  I  know  it,"  cried  the  old  chief.  Then  with  his 
eyes  starting  almost  from  his  head,  Sigananda  leapt 
up  and  raising  his  hand,  gave  the  royal  salute,  the 
Bayete,  to  the  spirit  of  Chaka,  as  though  the  dead  king 
stood  before  him. 

I  think  that  most  of  those  there  thought  that  it  did 
stand  before  him,  for  some  of  them  also  gave  the 
Bayete,  and  even  Cetewayo  raised  his  arm. 

Sigananda  squatted  down  again  and  Zikali  went 
on. 

"  You  have  heard.  This  captain  of  the  Lion  knows 
his  voice.  So,  that  is  done  with.  Now  you  ask  of 
me  something  else — that  I  who  am  a  doctor,  the  oldest 
of  all  the  doctors  and,  it  is  thought— I  know  not— the 
wisest,  should  be  able  to  answer.  You  ask  of  me — 
How  shall  this  war  prosper,  if  it  is  made — and  what 
shall  chance  to  the  King  during  and  after  the  war,  and 
lastly  you  ask  of  me  a  sign.  What  I  tell  to  you  is  true, 
is  it  not  so?" 

"  It  is  true,"  answered  the  Council. 

"  Asking  is  easy,"  continued  Zikali  in  a  grumbling 
voice,  *'  but  answering  is  another  matter.  How  can  I 
answer  without  preparation,  without  the  needful  medi- 
cines also  that  I  have  not  with  me,  who  did  not  know 
what  would  be  sought  of  me,  who  thought  that  my 


THE  GREAT  COUNCIL  249 

opinion  was  desired  and  no  more  ?  Go  away  now  and 
return  on  the  sixth  night  and  I  will  tell  you  what  I 
can  do.'* 

"  Not  so,"  cried  the  king.  "  We  refuse  to  go,  for 
the  matter  is  immediate.  Speak  at  once,  Opener  of 
Roads,  lest  it  should  be  said  in  the  land  that  after 
all  you  are  but  an  ancient  cheat,  a  stick  that  snaps  in 
two  when  it  is  leant  on." 

"  Ancient  cheat !  I  remember  that  is  what  Macuma- 
zahn  yonder  once  told  me  I  am,  though  afterwards — 
Perhaps  he  was  right,  for  who  in  his  heart  knows 
whether  or  not  he  be  a  cheat,  a  cheat  who  deceives 
himself  and  through  himself  others.  A  stick  that 
snaps  in  two  when  it  is  leant  on !  Some  have  thought 
me  so  and  some  have  thought  otherwise.  Well,  you 
would  have  answers  which  I  know  not  how  to  give, 
being  without  medicine  and  in  face  of  those  who  are 
quite  ignorant  and  therefore  cannot  lend  me  their 
thoughts,  as  it  sometimes  happens  that  men  do  when 
workers  of  evil  are  sought  out  in  the  common  fashion. 
For  then,  as  you  may  have  guessed,  it  is  the  evil-doer 
who  himself  tells  the  doctor  of  his  crime,  though  he 
may  not  know  that  he  is  telling  it.  Yet  there  is  an- 
other stone  that  I  alone  can  throw,  another  plan  that 
I  alone  can  practise,  and  that  not  always.  But  of  this 
I  would  not  make  use  since  it  is  terrible  and  might 
frighten  you  or  even  send  you  back  to  your  huts  rav- 
ing so  that  your  wives,  yes,  and  the  very  dogs,  fled 
from  you." 

He  stopped  and  for  the  first  time  did  something  to 
his  fire,  for  I  saw  his  hands  going  backwards  and  for- 
wards, as  though  he  warmed  them  at  the  flames. 

At  length  an  awed  voice,  I  think  it  was  that  of 
Dabulamanzi,  asked — 


250  FINISHED 

''  What  is  this  plan,  Inyanga?  Let  us  hear  that  we 
may  judge." 

''  The  plan  of  calling  one  from  the  dead  and  heark- 
ening to  the  voice  of  the  dead.  Is  it  your  desire  that 
I  should  draw  water  from  this  fount  of  wisdom,  O 
King  and  Councillors  ?" 


CHAPTER  XVI 


WAR 


Now  men  began  to  whisper  together  and  Goza 
groaned  at  my  side. 

"  Rather  would  I  look  down  a  live  lion's  throat 
than  see  the  dead,"  he  murmured.  But  I,  who  was 
anxious  to  learn  how  far  Zikali  would  carry  his  tricks, 
contemptuously  told  him  to  be  silent. 

Presently  the  king  called  me  to  him  and  said — 

"  Macumazahn,  you  white  men  are  reported  to  know 
all  things.  Tell  me  now,  is  it  possible  for  the  dead  to 
appear?" 

''  I  am  not  sure,"  I  answered  doubtfully;  "  some  say 
that  it  is  and  some  say  that  it  is  not  possible." 

"  Well,"  said  the  king.  "  Have  you  ever  seen  one 
you  knew  in  life  after  death?" 

"  No,"  I  replied,  ''  that  is— yes.  That  is— I  do  not 
know.  When  you  will  tell  me.  King,  where  waking 
ends  and  sleep  begins,  then  I  will  answer." 

"Macumazahn,"  he  exclaimed,  "just  now  I  an- 
nounced that  you  were  no  liar,  who  perceive  that  after 
all  you  are  a  liar,  for  how  can  you  both  have  seen,  and 
not  seen,  the  dead?  Indeed  I  remember  that  you  lied 
long  ago,  when  you  gave  it  out  that  the  witch  Mameena 
was  not  your  lover,  and  afterwards  showed  that  she 
was  by  kissing  her  before  all  men,  for  who  kisses  a 
woman  who  is  not  his  lover,  or  his  sister  or  his 
mother  ?    Return,  since  you  will  not  tell  me  the  truth." 

251 


252  FINISHED 

So  I  went  back  to  my  stool,  feeling  very  small  and 
yet  indignant,  for  how  was  it  possible  to  be  definite 
about  ghosts,  or  to  explain  the  exact  facts  of  the 
Mameena  myth  which  clung  to  me  like  a  Wait-a-bit 
thorn. 

Then  after  a  little  consultation  Cetewayo  said — 

"  It  is  our  desire,  O  Opener  of  Roads,  that  you 
should  draw  wisdom  from  the  fount  of  Death,  if  in- 
deed you  can  do  so.  Now  let  any  who  are  afraid  de- 
part and  wait  for  us  who  are  not  afraid,  alone  and  in 
silence  at  the  mouth  of  the  kloof." 

At  this  some  of  the  audience  rose,  but  after  hesi- 
tating a  little,  sat  down  again.  Only  Goza  actually 
took  a  step  forward,  but  on  my  remarking  that  he 
would  probably  meet  the  dead  coming  up  that  way, 
collapsed,  muttering  something  about  my  pistol,  for 
the  fool  seemed  to  think  I  could  shoot  a  spirit. 

"  If  indeed  I  can  do  so,"  repeated  ZikaH  in  a  care- 
less fashion.  "  That  is  to  be  proved,  is  it  not  ?  Per- 
haps, too,  it  may  be  better  for  every  one  of  you  if  I 
fail  than  if  I  succeed.  Of  one  thing  I  warn  you,  should 
the  dead  appear,  stir  not,  and  above  all  touch  not,  for 
he  who  does  either  of  these  things  will,  I  think,  never 
live  to  look  upon  the  sun  again.  But  first  let  me  try 
an  easier  fashion." 

Then  once  again  he  took  up  the  skull  that  he  said 
had  been  his  daughter's,  and  whispered  to  it,  only  to 
lay  it  down  presently. 

"  It  will  not  serve,"  he  said  with  a  sigh  and  shaking 
his  locks.  *'  Noma  tells  me  that  she  died  a  child,  one 
who  had  no  knowledge  of  war  or  matters  of  policy, 
and  that  in  all  these  things  of  the  world  she  still  re- 
mains a  child.  She  says  that  I  must  seek  some  one 
who  thought  much  of  them;  some  one,  too,  who  still 


WAR  253 

lives  in  the  heart  of  a  man  who  is  present  here,  if  that 
be  possible,  since  from  such  a  heart  alone  can  the 
strength  be  drawn  to  enable  the  dead  to  appear  and 
speak.  Now  let  there  be  silence — Let  there  be  silence, 
and  woe  to  him  that  breaks  it." 

Silence  there  was  indeed,  and  in  it  Zikali  crouched 
himself  down  till  his  head  almost  rested  on  his  knee, 
and  seemed  to  go  to  sleep.  He  awoke  again  and 
chanted  for  half  a  minute  or  so  in  some  language  I 
could  not  understand.  Then  voices  began  to  answer 
him,  as  it  seemed  to  me  from  all  over  the  kloof,  also 
from  the  sky  or  rock  above.  Whether  the  effect  was 
produced  by  ventriloquism  or  whether  he  had  confed- 
erates posted  at  various  points,  I  do  not  know. 

At  any  rate  this  lord  of  "  multitudes  of  spirits  " 
seemed  to  be  engaged  in  conversation  with  some  of 
them.  What  is  more,  the  thing  was  extremely  well 
done,  since  each  voice  differed  from  the  other;  also  I 
seemed  to  recognize  some  of  them,  Dingaan's  for  in- 
stance, and  Panda's,  yes,  and  that  of  Umbelazi  the 
Handsome,  the  brother  of  the  king  whose  death  I 
witnessed  down  by  the  Tugela. 

You  will  ask  me  what  they  said.  I  do  not  know. 
Either  the  words  were  confused  or  the  events  that  fol- 
lowed have  blotted  them  from  my  brain.  All  I  re- 
member is  that  each  of  them  seemed  to  be  speaking 
of  the  Zulus  and  their  fate  and  to  be  very  anxious  to 
refer  further  discussion  of  the  matter  to  some  one 
else.  In  short  they  seemed  to  talk  under  protest,  or 
that  was  my  impression,  although  Goza,  the  only  per- 
son with  whom  I  had  any  subsequent  debate  upon  the 
subject,  appeared  to  have  gathered  one  that  was  dif- 
ferent, though  what  it  was  I  do  not  recall.  The  only 
words  that  remained  clear  to  me  must,  I  thought,  have 


254  FINISHED 

come  from  the  spirit  of  Chaka,  or  rather  from  Zik'ali 
or  one  of  his  myrmidons  assuming  that  character. 
They  were  uttered  in  a  deep  full  voice,  spiced  with 
mockery,  and  received  by  the  wizard  with  Sibonga, 
or  titles  of  praise,  which  I  who  am  versed  in  Zulu  his- 
tory and  idiom  knew  had  only  been  given  to  the  great 
king,  and  indeed  since  his  death  had  become  unlawful, 
not  to  be  used.     The  words  were — 

"  What,  Thing-that-should-never-have-been-born,  do 
you  think  yourself  a  Thing-that-should-never-die,  that 
you  still  sit  beneath  the  moon  and  weave  witchcrafts 
as  of  old?  Often  have  I  hunted  for  you  in  the  Under- 
world who  have  an  account  to  settle  with  you,  as  you 
have  an  account  to  settle  with  me.  So,  so,  what  does 
it  matter  since  we  must  meet  at  last,  even  if  you  hide 
yourself  at  the  back  of  the  furthest  star?  Why  do  you 
bring  me  up  to  this  place  where  I  see  some  whom  I 
would  forget?  Yes,  they  build  bone  on  bone  and 
taking  the  red  earth,  mould  it  into  flesh  and  stand  be- 
fore me  as  last  I  saw  them  newly  dead.  Oh!  your 
magic  is  good,  Spell-weaver,  and  your  hate  is  deep  and 
your  vengeance  is  keen.  No,  I  have  nothing  to  tell 
you  to-day,  who  rule  a  greater  people  than  the  Zulus  in 
another  land.  Who  are  these  little  men  who  sit  before 
you?  One  of  them  has  a  look  of  Dingaan,  my  brother 
who  slew  me,  yes,  and  wears  his  armlet.  Is  he  the 
king  ?  Answer  not,  for  I  do  not  care  to  know.  Surely 
yonder  withered  thing  is  Sigananda.  I  know  his  eye 
and  the  Ijsiqu  on  his  breast.  Yes  I  gave  it  to  him 
after  the  great  battle  with  Zweede  in  which  he  killed 
five  men.  Does  he  remember  it,  I  wonder  ?  Greeting, 
Sigananda;  old  as  you  are  you  have  still  twenty  and 
one  years  to  live,  and  then  we  will  talk  of  the  battle 
with  Zweede.     Let  me  begone,  this  place  burns  my 


WAR  255 

spirit,  and  in  it  there  is  a  stench  of  mortal  blood. 
Farewell,  O  Conqueror !  " 

These  were  the  words  that  I  thought  I  heard  Chaka 
say,  though  I  daresay  that  I  dreamt  them.  Indeed 
had  it  been  otherwise,  I  mean  had  they  really  been 
spoken  by  Zikali,  there  would  surely  have  been  more 
in  them,  something  that  might  have  served  his  purpose, 
not  mere  talk  which  had  all  the  inconsequence  of  a 
dream.  Also  no  one  else  seemed  to  pay  any  particular 
attention  to  them,  though  this  may  have  been  because 
so  many  voices  were  sounding  from  different  places 
at  once,  for  as  I  have  said,  Zikali  arranged  his  per- 
formance very  well,  as  well  as  any  medium  could  have 
done  on  a  prepared  stage  in  London. 

In  a  moment,  as  though  at  a  signal,  the  voices  died 
away.  Then  other  things  happened.  To  begin  with 
I  felt  very  faint,  as  though  all  the  strength  were  be- 
ing taken  out  of  me.  Some  queer  fancy  got  a  hold  of 
me.  I  don't  quite  know  what  it  was,  but  it  had  to  do 
with  the  Bible  story  of  Adam  when  he  fell  asleep  and 
a  rib  was  removed  from  him  and  made  into  a  woman. 
I  reflected  that  I  felt  as  Adam  must  have  done  when 
he  came  out  of  his  trance  after  this  terrific  operation, 
very  weak  and  empty.  Also,  as  it  chanced,  presently 
I  saw  Eve — or  rather  a  woman.  Looking  at  the  fire 
in  a  kind  of  disembodied  way,  I  perceived  that  dense 
smoke  was  rising  from  it,  which  smoke  spread  itself 
out  like  a  fan.  It  thinned  by  degrees,  and  through  the 
veil  of  smoke  I  perceived  something  else,  namely,  a 
woman  very  like  one  whom  once  I  had  known.  There 
she  stood,  lightly  clad  enough,  her  fingers  playing  with 
the  blue  beads  of  her  necklace,  an  inscrutable  smile 
upon  her  face  and  her  large  eyes  fixed  on  nothingness. 

Oh !  Heaven,  I  knew  her,  or  rather  thought  I  did  at 


256  FINISHED 

the  moment,  for  now  I  am  almost  sure  that  it  was 
Nombe,  dressed,  or  undressed,  for  the  part.  That 
knowledge  came  with  reflection,  but  then  I  could  have 
sworn,  being  deceived  by  the  uncertain  light,  that  the 
long  dead  Mameena  stood  before  us  as  she  had  seemed 
to  stand  before  me  in  the  hut  of  Zikali,  radiating  a 
kind  of  supernatural  life  and  beauty. 

A  little  wind  arose,  shaking  the  dry  leaves  of  the 
aloes  in  the  kloof;  I  thought  it  whispered — Hail, 
Mameena!  Some  of  the  older  men,  too,  among  them 
a  few  who  had  seen  her  die,  in  trembling  voices  mur- 
mured, "  It  is  Mameena !"  whereon  Zikali  scowled  at 
them  and  they  grew  silent. 

As  for  the  figure  it  stood  there  patient  and  unmoved, 
like  one  who  has  all  time  at  its  disposal,  playing  with 
the  blue  beads.  I  heard  them  tinkle  against  each  other, 
which  proves  that  it  was  human,  for  how  could  a 
wraith  cause  beads  to  tinkle,  although  it  is  true  that 
Christmas-story  ghosts  are  said  to  clank  their  chains. 
Her  eyes  roved  idly  and  without  interest  over  the 
semicircle  of  terrified  men  before  her.  Then  by  de- 
grees they  fixed  themselves  upon  the  tree  behind  which 
I  was  crouching,  whereon  Goza  sank  paralyzed  to  the 
ground.  She  contemplated  this  tree  for  a  while  that 
seemed  to  me  interminable;  it  reminded  me  of  a  setter 
pointing  game  it  winded  but  could  not  see,  for  her 
whole  frame  grew  intent  and  alert.  She  ceased  play- 
ing with  the  beads  and  stretched  out  her  slender  hand 
towards  me.  Her  lips  moved.  She  spoke  in  a  sweet, 
slow  voice,  saying — 

"  O  Watcher-by-Night,  is  it  thus  you  greet  her  to 
whom  you  have  given  strength  to  stand  once  more  be- 
neath the  moon?  Come  hither  and  tell  me,  have  you 
no  kiss  for  one  from  whom  you  parted  with  a  kiss?'' 


WAR  257 

I  heard.  Without  doubt  the  voice  was  the  very  voice 
of  Mameena  (so  well  had  Nombe  been  instructed). 
Still  I  determined  not  to  obey  it,  who  would  not  be 
made  a  public  laughing-stock  for  a  second  time  in  my 
life.  Also  I  confess  this  jesting  with  the  dead  seemed 
to  me  somewhat  unholy,  and  not  on  any  account  would 
I  take  a  part  in  it. 

All  the  company  turned  and  stared  at  me,  even 
Goza  lifted  his  head  and  stared,  but  I  sat  still  and  con- 
templated the  beauties  of  the  night. 

"  If  it  is  the  spirit  of  Mameena,  he  will  come,"  whis- 
pered Cetewayo  to  Umnyamana. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  answered  the  Prime  Minister,  "  for  the 
rope  of  his  love  will  draw  him.  He  who  has  once 
kissed  Mameena,  must  kiss  her  again  when  she  asks." 

Hearing  this  I  grew  furiously  indignant  and  was 
about  to  break  into  explanations,  when  to  my  horror 
I  found  myself  rising  from  that  stool.  I  tried  to  cling 
to  it,  but,  as  it  only  came  into  the  air  with  me,  let  it  go. 

"  Hold  me,  Goza,"  I  muttered,  and  he  like  a  good 
fellow  clutched  me  by  the  ankle,  whereon  I  promptly 
kicked  him  in  the  mouth,  at  least  my  foot  kicked  him, 
not  my  will.  Now  I  was  walking  towards  that  Shape 
— shadow  or  woman — like  a  man  in  his  sleep,  and  as  I 
came  she  stretched  out  her  arms  and  smiled  oh!  as 
sweetly  as  an  angel,  though  I  felt  quite  sure  that  she 
was  nothing  of  the  sort. 

Now  I  stood  opposite  to  her  alongside  the  fire  of 
which  the  smoke  smelt  like  roses  at  the  dawn,  and  she 
seemed  to  bend  towards  me.  With  shame  and  humilia- 
tion I  perceived  that  in  another  moment  those  arms 
would  be  about  me.  But  somehow  they  never  touched 
me;  I  lost  sight  of  them  in  the  rose-scented  smoke,  only 
the  sweet,  slow  voice,  which  I  could  have  sworn  was 


258  FINISHED 

that  of  Mameena,  murmured  in  my  ear — well,  words 
known  to  her  and  me  alone  that  I  had  never  breathed 
to  any  living  being,  though  of  course  I  am  aware  now 
that  they  must  also  have  been  known  to  somebody  else. 

"  Do  you  doubt  me  any  longer?"  went  on  the  mur- 
muring. ''  Say,  am  I  Nombe  now  ?  Or  am  I  in  truth 
that  Mameena,  whose  kiss  thrills  your  lips  and  soul? 
Hearken,  Macumazahn,  for  the  time  is  short.  In  the 
rout  of  the  great  battle  that  shall  be,  do  not  fly  with 
the  white  men,  but  set  your  face  towards  Ulundi. 
One  who  was  your  friend  will  guard  you,  and  who- 
ever dies,  no  harm  shall  come  to  you,  now  that  the 
fire  which  burns  in  my  heart  has  set  all  Zululand 
aflame.  Hearken  once  more.  Hans,  the  little  yellow 
man  who  was  named  Light-in-Darkness,  he  who  died 
among  the  Kendah  people,  sends  you  salutations  and 
gives  you  praise.  He  bids  me  tell  you  that  now  of 
his  own  accord  he  renders  to  me,  Mameena,  the  royal 
salute,  because  royal  I  must  ever  be;  because  also  he 
and  I  who  are  so  far  apart  are  yet  one  in  the  love  that 
is  our  life." 

The  smoke  blew  into  my  face,  causing  me  to  reel 
back.    Cetewayo  caught  me  by  the  arm,  saying — 

"  Tell  us,  are  the  lips  of  the  dead  witch  warm  or 
cold?'' 

"  I  do  not  know/'  I  groaned,  *'  for  I  never  touched 
her." 

"How  he  lies!  Oh!  how  he  lies  even  about  what 
our  eyes  saw,"  said  Cetewayo  reflectively  as  I  blun- 
dered past  him  back  to  my  seat,  on  which  I  sank  half 
swooning.  When  I  got  my  wits  again  the  figure  that 
pretended  to  be  Mameena  was  speaking,  I  suppose  in 
answer  to  some  question  of  Zikali's  which  I  had  not 
heard.    It  said — 


WAR  259 

"  O  Lord  of  the  Spirits,  you  have  called  me  from 
the  land  of  Spirits  to  make  reply  as  to  two  matters 
which  have  not  yet  happened  upon  the  earth.  These 
replies  I  will  give  but  no  others,  since  the  mortal 
strength  that  I  have  borrowed  returns  whence  it  came. 
The  first  matter  is,  if  there  be  war  between  the  White 
and  Black,  what  will  happen  in  that  war?  I  see  a 
plain  ringed  round  with  hills  and  on  it  a  strange- 
shaped  mount.  I  see  a  great  battle;  I  see  the  white 
men  go  down  like  corn  before  a  tempest;  I  see  the 
spears  of  the  impis  redden;  I  see  the  white  soldiers  lie 
like  leaves  cut  from  a  tree  by  frost.  They  are  dead, 
all  dead,  save  a  handful  that  have  fled  away.  I  hear 
the  ingoma  of  victory  sung  here  at  Ulundi.  It  is 
finished. 

"  The  second  matter  is — what  shall  chance  to  the 
king?  I  see  him  tossed  on  the  Black  Water;  I  see  him 
in  a  land  full  of  houses,  talking  with  a  royal  woman 
and  her  councillors.  There,  too,  he  conquers,  for  they 
offer  him  tribute  of  many  gifts.  I  see  him  here,  back 
here  in  Zululand,  and  hear  him  greeted  with  the  royal 
salute.  Last  of  all  I  see  him  dead,  as  men  must  die, 
and  hear  the  voice  of  Zikali  and  the  mourning  of  the 
women  of  his  house.  It  is  finished.  Farewell,  King 
Cetewayo,  I  pass  to  tell  Panda,  your  father,  how  it 
fares  with  you.  When  last  we  parted  did  I  not 
prophesy  to  you  that  we  should  meet  again  at  the 
bottom  of  a  gulf?  Was  it  this  gulf,  think  you,  or  an- 
other ?  One  day  you  shall  learn.  Farewell,  or  fare  ill, 
as  it  may  happen !" 

Once  more  the  smoke  spread  out  like  a  fan.  When 
it  thinned  and  drew  together  again,  the  shape  was 
gone. 

Now  I  thought  that  the  Zulus  would  be  so  im- 


26o  FINISHED 

pressed  by  this  very  queer  exhibition,  that  they  would 
seek  no  more  supernatural  guidance,  but  make  up  their 
minds  for  war  at  once.  This,  however,  was  just  what 
they  did  not  do.  As  it  happened,  among  the  assembled 
chiefs  was  one  who  himself  had  a  great  repute  as  a 
witch-doctor,  and  therefore  burned  with  jealousy  of 
Zikali  who  appeared  to  be  able  to  do  things  that  he 
had  never  even  attempted.  This  man  leapt  up  and  de- 
clared that  all  which  they  had  seemed  to  hear  and  see 
was  but  cunning  trickery,  carried  out  after  long  prepa- 
ration by  Zikali  and  his  confederates.  The  voices,  he 
said,  came  from  persons  placed  in  certain  spots,  or 
sometimes  were  produced  by  Zikali  himself.  As  for 
the  vision,  it  was  not  that  of  a  spirit  but  of  a  real 
woman,  in  proof  of  which  he  called  attention  to  cer- 
tain anatomical  details  of  the  figure.  Finally,  with 
much  sense,  he  pointed  out  that  the  Council  would  be 
mad  to  come  to  any  decision  upon  such  evidence,  or  to 
give  faith  to  prophecies,  whereof  the  truth  or  falsity 
could  only  be  known  in  the  future. 

Now  a  fierce  debate  broke  out,  the  war  party  main- 
taining that  the  manifestations  were  genuine,  the  peace 
party  that  they  were  a  fraud.  In  the  end,  as  neither 
side  would  give  way  and  as  Zikali,  when  appealed  to, 
sat  silent  as  a  stone,  refusing  any  explanation,  the  king 
said — 

"Must  we  sit  here  talking,  talking,  till  daylight? 
There  is  but  one  man  who  can  know  the  truth,  that  is 
Macumazahn.  Let  him  deny  it  as  he  will,  he  was  the 
lover  of  this  Mameena  while  she  was  alive,  for  with 
my  own  eyes  I  saw  him  kiss  her  before  she  killed  her- 
self. It  is  certain,  therefore,  that  he  knows  if  the 
woman  we  seemed  to  see  was  Mameena  or  another, 
since  there  are  things  which  a  man  never  forgets.     I 


WAR  261 

propose,  therefore,  that  we  should  question  him  and 
form  our  own  judgment  of  his  answer." 

This  advice,  which  seemed  to  promise  a  road  out 
of  a  bhnd  ally,  met  with  instant  acceptance. 

"Let  it  be  so,"  they  cried  with  one  voice,  and  in 
another  minute  I  was  once  more  conducted  from  be- 
hind my  tree  and  set  down  upon  the  stool  in  front  of 
the  Council,  with  my  back  to  the  fire  and  Zikali,  "  that 
his  eyes  might  not  charm  me." 

"Now,  Watcher-by-Night,"  said  Cetewayo,  "al- 
though you  have  lied  to  us  in  a  certain  matter,  of  this 
we  do  not  think  much,  since  it  is  one  upon  which  both 
men  and  women  always  lie,  as  every  judge  will  know. 
Therefore  we  still  believe  you  to  be  an  honest  man,  as 
your  dealings  have  proved  for  many  years.  As  an 
honest  man,  therefore,  we  beg  you  to  give  us  a  true 
answer  to  a  plain  question.  Was  the  shape  we  saw 
before  us  just  now  a  woman  or  a  spirit,  and  if  a  spirit, 
was  it  the  ghost  of  Mameena,  the  beautiful  witch  who 
died  near  this  place  nearly  the  quarter  of  a  hundred 
years  ago,  she  whom  you  loved,  or  who  loved  you, 
which  is  just  the  same  thing,  since  a  man  always 
loves  a  woman  who  loves  him,  or  thinks  that  he  does  ?" 

Now  after  reflection  I  replied  in  these  words  and  as 
conscientiously  as  I  could — 

"  King  and  Councillors,  I  do  not  know  if  what  we 
all  saw  was  a  ghost  or  a  living  person,  but,  as  I  do  not 
believe  in  ghosts,  or  at  any  rate  that  they  come  back 
to  the  world  on  such  errands,  I  conclude  that  it  was  a 
living  person.  Still  it  may  have  been  neither,  but  only 
a  mere  picture  produced  before  us  by  the  arts  of  Zikali. 
So  much  for  the  first  question.  Your  second  is — was 
this  spirit  or  woman  or  shadow,  that  of  her  whom  I 
remember  meeting  in  Zululand  many  years  ago  ?  King 


262  FINISHED 

and  Councillors,  I  can  only  say  that  it  was  very  like 
her.  Still  one  handsome  young  woman  often  greatly 
resembles  another  of  the  same  age  and  colouring.  Fur- 
ther, the  moon  gives  an  uncertain  light,  especially 
when  it  is  tempered  by  smoke  from  a  fire.  Lastly, 
memory  plays  strange  tricks  with  all  of  us,  as  you  well 
know  if  you  try  to  think  of  the  face  of  any  one  who 
has  been  dead  for  more  than  twenty  years.  For  the 
rest,  the  voice  seemed  similar,  the  beads  and  ornaments 
seemed  similar,  and  the  figure  repeated  to  me  certain 
words  which  I  thought  I  alone  had  heard  come  from 
the  lips  of  her  who  is  dead.  Also  she  gave  me  a 
strange  message  from  another  who  is  dead,  referring 
to  a  matter  which  I  believed  was  known  only  to  me 
and  that  other.  Yet  Zikali  is  very  clever  and  may  have 
learned  these  things  in  some  way  unguessed  by  me, 
and  what  he  has  learned,  others  may  have  learned  also. 
King  and  Councillors,  I  do  not  think  that  what  we 
saw  was  the  spirit  of  Mameena.  I  think  it  a  woman 
not  unlike  to  her  who  had  been  taught  her  lesson.  I 
have  nothing  more  to  say,  and  therefore  I  pray  you 
not  to  ask  me  any  further  questions  about  Mameena 
of  whose  name  I  grow  weary." 

At  this  point  Zikali  seemed  to  wake  out  of  his  in- 
difference, or  his  torpor,  for  he  looked  up  and  said 
darkly — 

"  It  is  strange  that  the  cleverest  are  always  those 
who  first  fall  into  the  trap.  They  go  along,  gazing  at 
the  stars  at  night,  and  forget  the  pit  which  they  them- 
selves have  dug  in  the  morning.     0-ho-ho!   Oho-ho!" 

Now  the  wrangling  broke  out  afresh.  The  peace 
party  pointed  triumphantly  to  the  fact  that  I,  the  white 
man  who  ought  to  know,  put  no  faith  in  this  appari- 
tion, which  was  therefore  without  doubt  a  fraud.    The 


WAR  263 

war  party  on  the  other  hand  declared  that  I  was  de- 
ceiving them  for  reasons  of  my  own,  one  of  which 
would  be  that  I  did  not  wish  to  see  the  Zulus  eat  up 
my  people.  So  fierce  grew  the  debate  that  I  thought 
it  would  end  in  blows  and  perhaps  in  an  attack  on 
myself  or  Zikali  who  all  the  while  sat  quite  careless 
and  unmoved,  staring  at  the  moon.  At  length  Cete- 
wayo  shouted  for  silence,  spitting,  as  was  his  habit 
when  angry. 

''  Make  an  end,"  he  cried,  "  lest  I  cause  some  of  you 
to  grow  quiet  for  ever,"  whereon  the  recriminations 
ceased.  "  Opener  of  Roads,"  he  went  on,  "  many  of 
those  who  are  present  think  like  Macumazahn  here, 
that  you  are  but  an  old  cheat,  though  whether  or  no 
I  be  one  of  these  I  will  not  say.  They  demand  a  sign 
of  you  that  none  can  dispute,  and  I  demand  it  also 
before  I  speak  the  word  of  peace  or  war.  Give  us  then 
that  sign  or  begone  to  whence  you  came  and  show  your 
face  no  more  at  Ulundi." 

''  What  sign  does  the  Council  require.  Son  of 
Panda  ?"  asked  Zikali  quietly.  "  Let  them  agree  on 
one  together  and  tell  me  now  at  once,  for  I  who  am 
old  grow  weary  and  would  sleep.  Then  if  it  can  be 
given  I  will  give  it;  and  if  I  cannot  give  it,  I  will  get 
me  back  to  my  own  house  and  show  my  face  no  more 
at  Ulundi,  who  do  not  desire  to  listen  again  to  fools 
who  babble  like  contending  waters  round  a  stone  and 
yet  never  stir  the  stone  because  they  run  two  ways  at 
once." 

Now  the  Councillors  stared  at  each  other,  for  none 
knew  what  sign  to  ask.  At  length  old  Sigananda 
said — 

"  O  King,  it  IS  well  known  that  the  Black  One  who 
went  before  you  had  a  certain  little  assegai  handlecl 


264  FINISHED 

with  the  royal  red  wood,  which  drank  the  blood  of 
many.  It  was  with  this  assegai  that  Mopo  his  servant, 
who  vanished  from  the  land  after  the  death  of 
Dingaan,  let  out  the  life  of  the  Black  One  at  the  kraal 
Duguza,  but  what  became  of  it  afterwards  none  have 
heard  for  certain.  Some  say  that  it  was  buried  with 
the  Black  One,  some  that  Mopo  stole  it.  Others  that 
Dingaan  and  Umhlangana  burned  it.  Still  a  saying 
rose  like  a  wind  in  the  land  that  when  that  spear  shall 
fall  from  heaven  at  the  feet  of  the  king  who  reigns 
in  the  place  of  the  Black  One,  then  the  Zulus  shall 
make  their  last  great  war  and  win  a  victory  of  which 
all  the  world  shall  hear.  Now  let  the  Opener  of  Roads 
give  us  this  sign  of  the  falling  of  the  Black  One's 
spear  and  I  shall  be  content." 

''Would  you  know  the  spear  if  it  fell?"  asked 
Cetewayo. 

"  I  should  know  it,  O  King,  who  have  often  held  it 
in  my  hand.  The  end  of  the  haft  is  gnawed,  for  when 
he  was  angry  the  Black  One  used  to  bite  it.  Also  a 
thumb's  length  from  the  blade  is  a  black  mark  made 
with  a  hot  iron.  Once  the  Black  One  made  a  bet  with 
one  of  his  captains  that  at  a  distance  of  ten  paces  he 
would  throw  the  spear  deeper  into  the  body  of  a  chief 
whom  he  wished  to  kill,  than  the  captain  could.  The 
captain  threw  first,  for  I  saw  him  with  my  eyes,  and 
the  spear  sank  to  that  place  on  the  shaft  where  the 
mark  is,  for  the  Black  One  burned  it  there.  Then  the 
Black  One  threw  and  the  spear  went  through  the  body 
of  the  chief  who,  as  he  died,  called  to  him  that  he  too 
should  know  the  feel  of  it  in  his  heart,  as  indeed  he 
did." 

I  think  that  Cetewayo  was  about  to  assent  to  this 
suggestion,  since  he  who  desired  peace  believed  it  im- 


WAR  265 

possible  that  Zikali  should  suddenly  cause  this  identical 
spear  to  fall  from  heaven.  But  Umnyamana,  the 
Prime  Indiina,  interposed  hurriedly — 

''  It  is  not  enough,  O  King.  ZikaH  may  have  stolen 
the  spear,  for  he  w^as  living  and  at  the  kraal  Duguza 
at  that  time.  Also  he  may  have  put  about  the  prophecy 
whereof  Sigananda  speaks,  or  at  least  so  men  would 
say.  Let  him  give  us  a  greater  sign  than  this  that  all 
may  be  content,  so  that  whether  we  make  war  or  peace 
it  may  be  with  a  single  mind.  Now  it  is  known  that 
we  Zulus  have  a  guardian  spirit  who  watches  over  us 
from  the  skies,  she  who  is  called  Nomkubulwana,  or 
by  some  the  Inkosazana-y-Zulu,  the  Princess  of 
Heaven.  It  is  known  also  that  this  Princess,  who  is 
white  of  skin  and  ruddy-haired,  appears  always  before 
great  things  happen  in  our  land.  Thus  she  appeared 
to  Mopo  before  the  Black  One  died.  Also  she  ap- 
peared to  a  number  of  children  before  the  battle  of  the 
Tugela.  It  is  said,  too,  that  but  lately  she  appeared 
to  a  woman  near  the  coast  and  warned  her  to  cross 
the  Tugela  because  there  would  be  war,  though  this 
woman  cannot  now  be  found.  Let  the  Opener  of 
Roads  call  down  Nomkubulwana  before  our  eyes  from 
heaven  and  we  will  admit,  every  man  of  us,  that  this 
is  a  sign  which  cannot  be  questioned." 

"  And  if  he  does  this  thing,  which  I  hold  no  doctor 
in  the  world  can  do,  what  shall  it  signify?"  asked 
Cetewayo. 

"  O  King,"  answered  Umnyamana,  "  if  he  does  so, 
it  shall  signify  war  and  victory.  If  he  does  not  do  so, 
it  shall  signify  peace,  and  we  will  bow  our  heads  be- 
fore the  Amalungwana  basi  hodwe  (i.e.  "the  little 
English,"  used  as  a  term  of  derision). 

*'  Do  all  agree  ?"  asked  Cetewayo. 


266  FINISHED 

"  We  agree,'*  answered  every  man,  stretching  out 
his  hand. 

"  Then,  Opener  of  Roads,  it  stands  thus :  If  you 
can  call  Nomkubulwana,  should  there  be  such  a  spirit, 
to  appear  before  our  eyes,  the  Council  will  take  it  as 
a  sign  that  the  Heavens  direct  us  to  fight  the  English." 

So  spoke  Cetewayo,  and  I  noted  a  tone  of  triumph 
in  his  voice,  for  his  heart  shrank  from  this  war,  and 
he  was  certain  that  Zikali  could  do  nothing  of  the  sort. 
Still  the  opinion  of  the  nation,  or  rather  of  the  army, 
was  so  strong  in  favour  of  it  that  he  feared  lest  his 
refusal  might  bring  about  his  deposition,  if  not  his 
death.  From  this  dilemma  the  supernatural  test  sug- 
gested by  the  Prime  Minister  and  approved  by  the 
Council  that  represented  the  various  tribes  of  the 
people,  seemed  to  offer  a  path  of  escape.  So  I  read 
the  situation,  as  I  think  rightly. 

Upon  hearing  these  words  for  the  first  time  that 
night  Zikali  seemed  to  grow  disturbed. 

''What  do  my  ears  hear?"  he  exclaimed  excitedly. 
"Am  I  the  Umkidukulu,  the  Great-Great  (i.e.  God) 
himself,  that  it  should  be  asked  of  me  to  draw  the 
Princess  of  Heaven  from  beyond  the  stars,  she  who 
comes  and  goes  like  the  wind,  but  like  the  wind  cannot 
be  commanded?  Do  they  hear  that  if  she  will  not 
come  to  my  beckoning,  then  the  great  Zulu  people  must 
put  a  yoke  upon  their  shoulders  and  be  as  slaves? 
Surely  the  King  must  have  been  listening  to  the  doc- 
trines of  those  English  teachers  who  wear  a  white 
ribbon  tied  about  their  necks,  and  tell  us  of  a  god  who 
suffered  himself  to  be  nailed  to  a  cross  of  wood,  rather 
than  make  war  upon  his  foes,  one  whom  they  call  the 
Prince  of  Peace.  Times  have  changed  indeed  since 
the  days  of  the  Black  One.     Yes,  generals  have  be- 


WAR  267 

come  like  women;  the  captains  of  the  impis  are  set  to 
milk  the  cows.  Well,  what  have  I  to  do  with  all  this? 
What  does  it  matter  to  me  who  am  so  very  old  that 
only  my  head  remains  above  the  level  of  the  earth, 
the  rest  of  me  being  buried  in  the  grave,  who  am  not 
even  a  Zulu  to  boot,  but  a  Dwandwe,  one  of  the 
despised  Dwandwe  whom  the  Zulus  mocked  and  con- 
quered ? 

"  Hearken  to  me.  Spirits  of  the  House  of  Senzanga- 
cona  " — here  he  addressed  about  a  dozen  of  Cetewayo's 
ancestors  by  name,  going  back  for  many  generations. 
"  Hearken  to  me,  O  Princess  of  Heaven,  appointed 
by  the  Great-Great  to  be  the  guardian  of  the  Zulu  race. 
It  is  asked  that  you  should  appear,  should  it  be  your 
wish  to  signify  to  these  your  children  that  they  must 
stand  upon  their  feet  and  resist  the  white  men  who 
already  gather  upon  their  borders.  And  should  it  be 
your  wish  that  they  should  lay  down  their  spears  and 
go  home  to  sleep  with  their  wives  and  hoe  the  gardens 
while  the  white  men  count  the  cattle  and  set  each  to 
his  work  upon  the  roads,  then  that  you  should  not  ap- 
pear. Do  what  you  will,  O  Spirits  of  the  House  of 
vSenzangacona,  do  what  you  will,  O  Princess  of 
Heaven.  What  does  it  matter  to  the  Thing-that-never- 
should-have-been-born,  who  soon  will  be  as  though  he 
never  had  been  born,  whether  the  House  of  Senzanga- 
cona  and  the  Zulu  people  stand  or  fall? 

"  I,  the  old  doctor,  was  summoned  here  to  give 
counsel.  I  gave  counsel,  but  it  passed  over  the  heads 
of  these  wise  ones  like  a  shadow  of  which  none  took 
note.  I  was  asked  to  prophesy  of  what  would  chance 
if  war  came.  I  called  the  dead  from  their  graves; 
they  came  in  voices,  and  one  of  them  put  on  the  flesh 
again  and  spoke  from  the  lips  of  flesh.     The  white 


268  FINISHED 

man  to  whom  she  spoke  denied  her  who  had  been  his 
love,  and  the  wise  ones  said  that  she  was  a  cheat,  yes, 
a  doll  that  I  had  dressed  up  to  deceive  them.  This 
spirit  that  had  put  on  flesh,  told  of  what  would  chance 
in  the  war,  if  war  there  were,  and  what  would  chance 
to  the  King,  but  they  mock  at  the  prophecy  and  now 
they  demand  a  sign.  Come  then,  Nomkubulwana,  and 
give  them  the  sign  if  you  will  and  let  there  be  war. 
Or  stay  away  and  give  them  no  sign  if  you  will,  and  let 
there  be  peace.  It  is  nought  to  me,  nought  to  the 
Thing-that-should-never-have-been-born." 

Thus  he  rambled  on,  as  it  occurred  to  me  who 
watched  and  listened,  talking  against  time.  For  I 
observed  that  while  he  spoke  a  cloud  was  passing  over 
the  face  of  the  moon,  and  that  when  he  ceased  speak- 
ing it  was  quite  obscured  by  this  cloud,  so  that  the 
Valley  of  Bones  was  plunged  in  a  deep  twilight  that 
was  almost  darkness.  Further,  in  a  nervous  kind  of 
way,  he  did  something  more  to  his  wizard's  fire  which 
again  caused  it  to  throw  out  a  fan  of  smoke  that  hid 
him  and  the  execution  rock  in  front  of  which  he  sat. 

The  cloud  floated  by  and  the  moon  came  out  as 
though  from  an  eclipse;  the  smoke  of  the  fire,  too, 
thinned  by  degrees.  As  it  melted  and  the  light  grew 
again,  I  became  aware  that  something  was  materiaHz- 
ing,  or  had  appeared  on  the  point  of  the  rock  above  us. 
A  few  seconds  later,  to  my  wonder  and  amaze,  I  per- 
ceived that  this  something  was  the  spirit-like  form  of 
a  white  woman  which  stood  quite  still  upon  the  very 
point  of  the  rock.  She  was  clad  in  some  garment  of 
gleaming  white  cut  low  upon  her  breast,  that  may  have 
been  of  linen,  but  from  the  way  it  shone,  suggested 
that  it  was  of  glittering  feathers,  egrets,  for  instance. 
Her  ruddy  hair  was  outspread,  and  in  it,  too,  some- 


WAR  269 

thing  glittered  like  mica  or  jewels.  Her  feet  and  milk- 
hued  arms  were  bare  and  poised  in  her  right  hand 
was  a  little  spear. 

Nor  did  I  see  alone,  since  a  moan  of  fear  and  wor- 
ship went  up  from  the  Councillors.  Then  they  grew 
silent  and  stared  and  stared. 

Suddenly  Zikali  lifted  his  head  and  looked  at  them 
through  the  thin  flame  of  the  fire  which  made  his  eyes 
shine  like  those  of  a  tiger  or  of  a  cornered  baboon. 

''  At  what  do  you  gaze  so  hard,  King  and  Coun- 
cillors ?"  he  asked.  "  I  see  nothing.  At  what  then  do 
you  gaze  so  hard?" 

''  On  the  rock  above  you  stands  a  white  spirit  in 
her  glory.  It  is  the  Inkosazana  herself,"  muttered 
Cetewayo. 

"Has  she  come  then?"  mocked  the  old  wizard. 
"  Nay,  surely  it  is  but  a  dream,  or  another  of  my 
tricks;  some  black  woman  painted  white  that  I  have 
smuggled  here  in  my  medicine  bag,  or  rolled  up  in  the 
blanket  on  my  back.  How  can  I  prove  to  you  that  this 
is  not  another  cheat  like  to  that  of  the  spirit  of 
Mameena  whom  the  white  man,  her  lover,  did  not 
know  again?  Go  near  to  her  you  must  not,  even  if 
you  could,  seeing  that  if  by  chance  she  should  not 
be  a  cheat,  you  would  die,  every  man  of  you,  for  woe 
to  him  whom  Nomkubulwana  touches.  How  then, 
how  ?  Ah !  I  have  it.  Doubtless  in  his  pocket  Macuma- 
zahn  yonder  hides  a  little  gun,  Macumazahn  who  with 
such  a  gun  can  cut  ^  reed  in  two  at  thirty  paces,  or 
shave  the  hair  from  the  chin  of  a  man,  as  is  well  known 
in  the  land.  Let  him  then  take  his  little  gun  and  shoot 
at  that  which  you  say  stands  upon  the  rock.  If  it  be  a 
black  woman  painted  white,  doubtless  she  will  fall 
down  dead,  as  so  many  have  fallen  from  that  rock. 


270  FINISHED 

But  if  it  be  the  Princess  of  Heaven,  then  the  bullet 
will  pass  through  her  or  turn  aside  and  she  will  take 
no  harm,  though  whether  Macumazahn  will  take  any 
harm  is  more  than  I  can  say." 

Now  when  they  heard  this  many  remained  silent, 
but  some  of  the  peace  party  began  to  clamour  that  I 
should  be  ordered  to  shoot  at  the  apparition.  At 
length  Cetewayo  seemed  to  give  way  to  this  pressure. 
I  say  seemed,  because  I  think  he  wished  to  give  way. 
Whether  or  not  a  spirit  stood  before  him,  he  knew  no 
more  than  the  rest,  but  he  did  know  that  unless  the 
vision  were  proved  to  be  mortal  he  would  be  driven 
into  war  with  the  English.  Therefore  he  took  the  only 
chance  that  remained  to  him. 

''  Macumazahn,"  he  said,  *'  I  know  you  have  your 
pistol  on  you,  for  only  the  other  day  you  brought  it 
into  my  presence,  and  through  light  and  darkness  you 
nurse  it  as  a  mother  does  her  firstborn.  Now  since 
the  Opener  of  Roads  desires  it,  I  command  you  to  fire 
at  that  which  seems  to  stand  above  us.  If  it  be  a 
mortal  woman,  she  is  a  cheat  and  deserves  to  die.  If 
it  be  a  spirit  from  heaven  it  can  take  no  harm.  Nor 
can  you  take  harm  who  only  do  that  which  you  must." 

''  Woman  or  spirit,  I  will  not  shoot.  King,"  I  an- 
swered. 

'*  Is  it  so?  What!  do  you  defy  me,  White  Man? 
Do  so  if  you  will,  but  learn  that  then  your  bones  shall 
whiten  here  in  this  Valley  of  Bones.  Yes,  you  shall  be 
the  first  of  the  English  to  go  below,"  and  turning,  he 
whispered  something  to  two  of  the  Councillors. 

Now  I  saw  that  I  must  either  obey  or  die.  For  a 
moment  my  mind  grew  confused  in  face  of  this  awful 
alternative.  I  did  not  believe  that  I  saw  a  spirit.  I 
believed  that  what  stood  before  me  was  Nombe  cun- 


WAR  271 

ningly  tricked  out  with  some  native  pigments  which 
at  that  distance  and  in  that  Hght  made  her  look  Hke  a 
white  woman.  For  oddly  enough  at  that  time  the 
truth  did  not  occur  to  me,  perhaps  because  I  was  too 
surprised.  Well,  if  it  were  Nombe,  she  deserved  to 
be  shot  for  playing  such  a  trick,  and  what  is  more  her 
death,  by  revealing  the  fraud  of  Zikali,  would  perhaps 
avert  a  great  war.  But  then  why  did  he  make  the 
suggestion  that  I  should  be  commanded  to  fire  at  this 
figure.  Slowly  I  drew  out  my  pistol  and  brought  it  to 
the  full  cock,  for  it  was  loaded. 

"  I  will  obey,  King,"  I  said,  "  to  save  myself  from 
being  murdered.  But  on  your  head  be  all  that  may 
follow  from  this  deed." 

Then  it  was  for  the  first  time  that  a  new  idea  struck 
me  so  clearly  that  I  believe  it  was  conveyed  direct 
from  Zikali's  brain  to  my  own.  /  might  shoot,  but 
there  was  no  need  for  me  to  hit.  After  that  everything 
grew  plain. 

'*  King,"  I  said,  ''  if  yonder  be  a  mortal,  she  is  about 
to  die.  Only  a  spirit  can  escape  my  aim.  Watch  now 
the  centre  of  her  forehead,  for  there  the  bullet  will 
strike!" 

I  lifted  the  pistol  and  appeared  to  cover  the  figure 
with  much  care.  As  I  did  so,  even  from  that  distance 
I  thought  I  saw  a  look  of  terror  in  its  eyes.  Then  I 
fired,  with  a  little  jerk  of  the  wrist  sending  the  ball  a 
good  yard  above  her  head. 

''  She  is  unharmed,"  cried  a  voice.  "  Macumazahn 
has  missed  her." 

"  Macumazahn  does  not  miss,"  I  replied  loftily. 
"  If  that  at  which  he  aimed  is  unharmed,  it  is  because 
it  cannot  be  hit." 

''0-ho-o!"  laughed  Zikali,  "the  White  Man  who 


272  FINISHED 

does  not  know  the  taste  of  his  own  love's  lips,  says  thai 
he  has  fired  at  that  which  cannot  be  hit.  Let  him  try 
again.  No,  let  him  choose  another  target.  The  Spirit 
is  the  Spirit,  but  he  who  summoned  her  may  still  be  a 
cheat.  There  is  another  bullet  in  your  little  gun,  White 
Man;  see  if  it  can  pierce  the  heart  of  Zikali,  that  the 
King  and  Council  may  learn  whether  he  be  a  true 
prophet,  the  greatest  of  all  the  prophets  that  ever  was, 
or  whether  he  be  but  a  common  cheat." 

Now  a  sudden  rage  filled  me  against  this  old  rascal. 
I  remembered  how  he  had  brought  Mameena  to  her 
death,  when  he  thought  that  it  would  serve  him,  and 
since  then  filled  the  land  with  stories  concerning  her 
and  me,  which  met  me  whatever  way  I  turned.  I  re- 
membered that  for  years  he  had  plotted  to  bring  about 
the  destruction  of  the  Zulus,  and  to  further  his  dark 
ends,  was  now  engaged  in  causing  a  fearful  war  which 
would  cost  the  lives  of  thousands.  I  remembered  that 
he  had  trapped  me  into  Zululand  and  then  handed  me 
over  to  Cetewayo,  separating  me  from  my  friends  who 
were  in  my  charge;  and  for  aught  I  knew,  giving  them 
to  death.    Surely  the  world  would  be  well  rid  of  him. 

"  Have  your  will,"  I  shouted  and  covered  him  with 
the  pistol. 

Then  there  came  into  my  mind  a  certain  saying — 
''  Judge  not  that  ye  be  not  judged."  Who  and  what 
was  I  that  I  should  dare  to  arraign  and  pass  sentence 
upon  this  man  who  after  all  had  suffered  many 
wrongs?  As  I  was  about  to  fire  I  caught  sight  of  some 
bright  object  flashing  towards  the  king  from  above, 
and  instantaneously  shifted  my  aim  and  pressed  the 
trigger.  The  thing,  whatever  it  might  be,  flew  in  two. 
One  part  of  it  fell  upon  Zikali,  the  other  part  travelled 
on  and  struck  Cetewayo  upon  the  knee. 


WAR  273 

There  followed  a  great  confusion  and  a  cry  of  '*  The 
king  is  stabbed !"  I  ran  forward  to  look  and  saw  the 
blade  of  a  little  assegai  lying  on  the  ground  and  on 
Cetewayo's  knee  a  slight  cut  from  which  blood  trickled. 

''  It  is  nothing,"  I  said,  "  a  scratch,  no  more,  though 
had  not  the  spear  been  stopped  in  its  course  it  might 
have  been  otherwise." 

''  Yes,"  cried  Zikali,  "  but  what  was  it  that  caused 
the  cut?  Take  this,  Sigananda,  and  tell  me  what  it 
may  be,"  and  he  threw  towards  him  a  piece  of  red 
wood. 

Sigananda  looked  at  it.  "  It  is  the  haft  of  the 
Black  One's  spear,"  he  exclaimed,  ''which  the  bullet 
of  Macumazahn  has  severed  from  the  blade." 

"  Aye,"  said  Zikali,  "  and  the  blade  has  drawn  the 
blood  of  the  Black  One's  child.  Read  me  this  omen, 
Sigananda,  or  ask  it  of  her  who  stands  above  you." 

Now  all  looked  to  the  rock,  but  it  was  empty.  The 
figure  had  vanished. 

"  Your  word,  King,"  said  Zikali.  "  Is  it  for  peace 
or  war?" 

Cetewayo  looked  at  the  assegai,  looked  at  the  blood 
trickling  from  his  knee,  looked  at  the  faces  of  the 
councillors. 

''  Blood  calls  for  blood,"  he  moaned.  "  My  word 
is— Warr 


CHAPTER  XVII 

KAATJE   BRINGS   NEWS 

ZiKALi  burst  into  one  of  his  peals  of  laughter,  so  un- 
holy that  it  caused  the  blood  in  me  to  run  cold. 

"  The  King's  word  is  war''  he  cried.  ''  Let 
Nomkubulwana  take  that  word  back  to  heaven.  Let 
Macumazahn  take  it  to  the  White  Men.  Let  the  cap- 
tains cry  it  to  the  regiments  and  let  the  world  grow 
red.  The  King  has  chosen,  though  mayhap,  had  I 
been  he,  I  should  have  chosen  otherwise :  yet  what  am 
I  but  a  hollow  reed  stuck  in  the  ground  up  which  the 
spirits  speak  to  men?  It  is  finished,  and  I,  too,  am 
finished  for  a  while.  Farewell,  O  King !  Where  shall 
we  meet  again,  I  wonder  ?  On  the  earth  or  under  it  ? 
Farewell,  Macumazahn,  I  know  where  we  shall  meet, 
though  you  do  not.  O  King,  I  return  to  my  own  place, 
I  pray  you  to  command  that  none  come  near  me  or 
trouble  me  with  words,  for  I  am  spent." 

"  It  is  commanded,"  said  Cetewayo. 

As  he  spoke  the  fire  went  out  mysteriously,  and  the 
wizard  rose  and  hobbled  off  at  a  surprising  pace  round 
the  corner  of  the  projecting  rock. 

"  Stay!"  I  called.  "  I  would  speak  with  you;"  but 
although  I  am  sure  he  heard  me,  he  did  not  stop  or 
look  round. 

I  sprang  up  to  follow  him,  but  at  some  sign  from 
Cetewayo  two  indunas  barred  my  way. 

"  Did  you  not  hear  the  King's  command,  White 
274 


KAATJE  BRINGS  NEWS  275 

Man?"  one  of  them  asked  coldly,  and  the  tone  of  his 
question  told  me  that  war  having  been  declared,  I  was 
now  looked  upon  as  a  foe.  I  was  about  to  answer 
sharply  when  Cetewayo  himself  addressed  me. 

'*  Macumazahn,"  he  said,  ''  you  are  now  my  enemy, 
like  all  your  people,  and  from  sunrise  to-morrow  morn- 
ing your  safe-conduct  here  ends,  for  if  you  are  found 
at  Ulundi  two  hours  after  that  time,  it  will  be  lawful 
for  any  man  to  kill  you.  Yet  as  you  are  still  my  guest, 
I  will  give  you  an  escort  to  the  borders  of  the  land. 
Moreover,  you  shall  take  a  message  from  me  to  the 
Queen's  officers  and  captains.  It  is — that  I  will  send 
an  answer  to  their  demands  upon  the  point  of  an 
assegai.  Yet  add  this,  that  not  I  but  the  English,  to 
whom  I  have  always  been  a  friend,  sought  this  war. 
If  Sompseu  had  suffered  me  to  fight  the  Boers  as  I 
wished  to  do,  it  would  never  have  come  about.  But  he 
threw  the  Queen's  blanket  over  the  Transvaal  and  stood 
upon  it,  and  now  he  declares  that  lands  which  were 
always  the  property  of  the  Zulus,  belong  to  the  Boers. 
Therefore  I  take  back  all  the  promises  which  I  made 
to  him  when  he  came  hither  to  call  me  King  in  the 
Queen's  name,  and  no  more  do  I  call  him  my  father. 
As  for  the  disbanding  of  my  impis,  let  the  English 
disband  them  if  they  can.     I  have  spoken." 

''  And  I  have  heard,"  I  answered,  ''  and  will  deliver 
your  words  faithfully,  though  I  hold,  King,  that  they 
come  from  the  lips  of  one  whom  the  Heavens  have 
made  mad." 

At  this  bold  speech  some  of  the  Councillors  started 
up  with  threatening  gestures.  Cetewayo  waved  them 
back,  and  answered  quietly,  ''  Perhaps  it  was  the  Queen 
of  Heaven  who  stood  on  yonder  rock  who  made  me 
mad.     Or  perhaps  she  made  me  wise,  as  being  the 


276  FINISHED 

Spirit  of  our  people  she  should  surely  do.  That  is  a 
question  which  the  future  will  decide,  and  if  ever  we 
should  meet  after  it  is  decided,  we  will  talk  it  over. 
Now,  hamba  gachle!  (go  in  peace)." 

"  I  hear  the  king  and  I  will  go,  but  first  I  would 
speak  with  Zikali." 

"  Then,  White  Man,  you  must  wait  till  this  war  is 
finished,  or  till  you  meet  him  in  the  Land  of  Spirits. 
Goza,  lead  Macumazahn  back  to  his  hut  and  set  a 
guard  about  it.  At  the  dawn  a  company  of  soldiers 
will  be  waiting  with  orders  to  take  him  to  the  border. 
You  will  go  with  him  and  answer  for  his  safety  with 
your  life.  Let  him  be  well  treated  on  the  road  as  my 
messenger." 

Then  Cetewayo  rose  and  stood  while  all  present  gave 
him  the  royal  salute,  after  which  he  walked  away 
down  the  kloof.  I  remained  for  a  moment,  making 
pretence  to  examine  the  blade  of  the  little  assegai  that 
had  been  thrown  by  the  figure  on  the  rock,  which  I 
had  picked  from  the  ground.  This  historical  piece  of 
iron  which  I  have  no  doubt  is  the  same  that  Chaka 
always  carried,  wherewith,  too,  he  is  said  to  have 
killed  his  mother,  Nandie,  which,  by  the  way  I  still 
possess,  for  I  slipped  it  into  my  pocket  and  none  tried 
to  take  it  from  me. 

Really,  however,  I  was  wondering  whether  I  could 
in  any  way  gain  access  to  Zikali,  a  problem  that  was 
settled  for  me  by  a  sharp  request  to  move  on,  uttered 
in  a  tone  which  admitted  of  no  further  argument. 

Well,  I  trudged  back  to  my  hut  in  the  company  of 
Goza,  who  was  so  overcome  by  all  the  wonders  he  had 
seen  that  he  could  scarcely  speak.  Indeed,  when  I 
asked  him  what  he  thought  of  the  figure  that  had  ap- 
peared upon  the  rock,  he  replied  petulantly  that  it  was 


KAATJE  BRINGS  NEWS  277 

not  given  to  him  to  know  whence  spirits  came  or  of 
what  stuff  they  were  made,  which  showed  me  that  he 
at  any  rate  beHeved  in  its  supernatural  origin  and 
that  it  had  appeared  to  direct  the  Zulus  to  make  war. 
This  was  all  I  wanted  to  find  out,  so  I  said  nothing 
more,  but  gave  up  my  mind  to  thought  of  my  own 
position  and  difficulties. 

Here  I  was,  ordered  on  pain  of  death  to  depart  from 
Ulundi  at  the  dawn.  And  yet  how  could  I  obey  with- 
out seeing  Zikali  and  learning  from  him  what  had 
happened  to  Anscombe  and  Heda,  or  at  any  rate  with- 
out communicating  with  him?  Once  more  only  did 
I  break  silence,  offering  to  give  Goza  a  gun  if  he  would 
take  a  message  from  me  to  the  great  wizard.  But  with 
a  shake  of  his  big  head,  he  answered  that  to  do  so 
would  mean  death,  and  guns  were  of  no  good  to  a 
dead  man  since,  as  I  had  shown  myself  that  night, 
they  had  no  power  to  shoot  a  spirit. 

This  closed  the  business  on  which  I  need  not  have 
troubled  to  enter,  since  an  answer  to  all  my  question- 
ings was  at  hand. 

We  reached  the  hut  where  Goza  gave  me  over  to 
the  guard  of  soldiers,  telling  their  officer  that  none 
were  to  be  permitted  to  enter  it  save  myself  and  that 
I  was  not  to  be  permitted  to  come  out  of  it  until  he, 
Goza,  came  to  fetch  me  a  little  before  the  dawn. 

The  officer  asked  if  any  one  else  was  to  be  permitted 
to  come  out,  a  question  that  surprised  me,  though 
vaguely,  for  I  was  thinking  of  other  things.  Then 
Goza  departed,  remarking  that  he  hoped  I  should  sleep 
better  than  he  would,  who  "  felt  spirits  in  his  bones 
and  did  not  wish  to  kiss  them  as  I  seemed  to  like  to 
do."  I  replied  facetiously,  thinking  of  the  bottle  of 
brandy,  that  ere  long  I  meant  to  feel  them  in  my 


278,  FINISHED 

stomach,  whereat  he  shook  his  head  again  with  the 
air  of  one  whom  nothing  connected  with  me  could  sur- 
prise, and  vanished. 

I  crawled  into  the  hut  and  put  the  board  over  the 
bee-hole-like  entrance  behind  me.  Then  I  began  to 
hunt  for  the  matches  in  my  pocket  and  pricked  my 
finger  with  the  point  of  Chaka's  historical  assegai. 
While  I  was  sucking  it  to  my  amazement  I  heard  the 
sound  of  some  one  breathing  on  the  further  side  of 
the  hut.  At  first  I  thought  of  calling  the  guard,  but 
on  reflection  found  the  matches  and  lit  the  candle, 
which  stood  by  the  blankets  that  served  me  as  a  bed. 
As  soon  as  it  burned  up  I  looked  towards  the  sound, 
and  to  my  horror  perceived  the  figure  of  a  sleeping 
woman,  which  frightened  me  so  much  that  I  nearly 
dropped  the  candle. 

To  tell  the  truth,  so  obsessed  was  I  with  Zikali  and 
his  ghosts  that  for  a  few  moments  it  occurred  to  me 
that  this  might  be  the  shape  with  which  I  had  talked 
an  hour  or  two  before.  I  mean  that  which  had  seemed 
to  resemble  the  long-dead  lady  Mameena,  or  rather  the 
person  made  up  to  her  likeness,  come  here  to  con- 
tinue our  conversation.  At  any  rate  I  was  sure,  and 
rightly,  that  here  was  more  of  the  handiwork  of 
Zikali  who  wished  to  put  me  in  some  dreadful  position 
for  reasons  of  his  own. 

Pulling  myself  together  I  advanced  upon  the  lady, 
only  to  find  myself  no  wiser,  since  she  was  totally  cov- 
ered by  a  kaross.  Now  what  was  to  be  done?  To 
escape,  of  which,  of  course,  I  had  thought  at  once, 
was  impossible  since  it  meant  an  assegai  in  my  ribs. 
To  call  to  the  guard  for  help  seemed  indiscreet,  for  who 
knew  what  those  fools  might  say?  To  kick  or  shake 
her  would  undoubtedly  be  rude  and,  if  it  chanced  to 


KAATJE  BRINGS  NEWS  279 

be  the  person  who  had  played  Mameena,  would  cer- 
tainly provoke  remarks  that  I  should  not  care  to  face. 
There  seemed  to  be  only  one  resource,  to  sit  down  and 
wait  till  she  woke  up. 

This  I  did  for  quite  a  long  time,  till  at  last  the  ab- 
surdity of  the  position  and,  I  will  admit,  my  own 
curiosity,  overcame  me,  especially  as  I  was  very  tired 
and  wanted  to  go  to  sleep.  So  advancing  most  gin- 
gerly, I  turned  down  the  kaross  from  over  the  head  of 
the  sleeping  woman,  much  wondering  whom  I  should 
see,  for  what  man  is  there  that  a  veiled  woman  does 
not  interest?  Indeed,  does  not  half  the  interest  of 
w^oman  lie  in  the  fact  that  her  nature  is  veiled  from 
man,  in  short  a  mystery  which  he  is  always  seeking  to 
solve  at  his  peril,  and  I  might  add,  never  succeeds  in 
solving  ? 

Well,  I  turned  down  that  kaross  and  next  instant 
stepped  back  amazed  and,  to  tell  the  truth,  somewhat 
disappointed,  for  there,  with  her  mouth  open,  lay  no 
wondrous  and  spiritual  Mameena,  but  the  stout,  earthly 
and  most  prosaic — Kaatje ! 

''  Counfound  the  woman !"  thought  I  to  myself. 
*' What  is  she  doing  here?" 

Then  I  remembered  how  wrong  it  was  to  give  way 
to  a  sense  of  romantic  disappointment  at  such  a  time, 
though  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  always  in  a  moment  of 
crisis  or  of  strained  nerves  that  we  are  most  open  to 
the  insidious  advances  of  romance.  Also  that  there 
was  no  one  on  earth,  or  beyond  it,  whom  I  ought  more 
greatly  to  have  rejoiced  to  see.  I  had  left  Kaatje  with 
Anscombe  and  Heda;  therefore  Kaatje  could  tell  me 
what  had  become  of  them.  And — at  this  thought  my 
heart  sank — why  was  she  here  in  this  most  inappro- 
priate meeting-place,  alone?    Feeling  that  these  were 


28o  FINISHED 

questions  which  must  be  answered  at  once,  I  prodded 
Kaatje  in  the  ribs  with  my  toe  until,  after  a  good  deal 
of  prodding,  she  awoke,  sat  up  and  yawned,  revealing 
an  excellent  set  of  teeth  in  her  cavernous,  quarter-cast 
mouth.  Then  perceiving  a  man  she  opened  that 
mouth  even  wider,  as  I  thought  with  the  idea  of 
screaming  for  help.  But  here  I  was  first  with  her,  for 
before  a  sound  could  issue  I  had  filled  it  full  with  the 
corner  of  the  kaross,  exclaiming  in  Dutch  as  I  did  so — 

"  Idiot  of  a  woman,  do  you  not  know  the  Heer 
Quatermain  when  you  see  him?" 

"  Oh !  Baas,"  she  answered,  "  I  thought  you  were 
some  wicked  Zulu  come  to  do  me  a  mischief."  Then 
she  burst  into  tears  and  sobs  w^hich  I  could  not  stop 
for  at  least  three  minutes. 

"  Be  quiet,  you  fat  fool!"  I  cried  exasperated,  "  and 
tell  me,  where  are  your  mistress  and  the  Heer  Ans- 
combe  ?" 

"  I  don't  know.  Baas,  but  I  hope  in  heaven  "  (Kaatje 
was  some  kind  of  a  Christian),  she  replied  between 
her  sobs. 

"  In  heaven !  What  do  you  mean  ?"  I  asked  hor- 
rified. 

"  I  mean.  Baas,  that  I  hope  they  are  in  heaven,  be- 
cause when  last  I  saw  them  they  were  both  dead,  and 
dead  people  must  be  either  in  heaven  or  hell,  and 
heaven,  they  say,  is  better  than  hell." 

''Dead!    Where  did  you  see  them  dead?" 

"  In  that  Black  Kloof,  Baas,  some  days  after  you 
left  us  and  went  away.  The  old  baboon  man  who  is 
called  Zikali  gave  us  leave  through  the  w^itch-girl, 
Nombe,  to  go  also.  So  the  Baas  Anscombe  set  to  work 
to  'inspan  the  horses,  the  Missie  Heda  helping  him, 
.while  I  packed  the  things.    When  I  had  nearly  finished 


KAATJE  BRINGS  NEWS  281 

Nombe  came,  smiling  like  a  cat  that  has  caught  two 
mice,  and  beckoned  to  me  to  follow  her.  I  went  and 
saw  the  cart  inspanned  with  the  four  horses  all  look- 
ing as  though  they  were  asleep,  for  their  heads  hung 
down.  Then  after  she  had  stared  at  me  for  a  long 
while  Nombe  led  me  past  the  horses  into  the  shadow 
of  the  overhanging  cliff.  There  I  saw  my  mistress 
and  the  Baas  Anscombe  lying  side  by  side  quite  dead." 

"How  do  you  know  that  they  were  dead?"  I 
gasped.     *•'  What  had  killed  them  ?" 

''I  know  that  they  were  dead  because  ihty  zvere 
dead.  Baas.  Their  mouths  and  eyes  were  open  and 
they  lay  upon  their  backs  with  their  arms  stretched 
out.  The  witch-girl,  Nombe,  said  some  Kafiirs  had 
come  and  strangled  them  and  then  gone  away  again, 
or  so  I  understood  who  cannot  speak  Zulu  so  very 
well.  Who  the  Kaffirs  were  or  why  they  came  she 
did  not  say." 

"  Then  what  did  you  do  ?"  I  asked. 

"  I  ran  back  to  the  hut,  Baas,  fearing  lest  I  should 
be  strangled  also,  and  wept  there  till  I  grew  hungry. 
When  I  came  out  of  it  again  they  were  gone.  Nombe 
showed  me  a  place  under  a  tree  where  the  earth  was 
disturbed.  She  said  that  they  were  buried  there  by 
order  of  her  master,  Zikali.  I  don't  know  what  became 
of  the  horses  or  the  cart." 

"And  what  happened  to  you  afterwards?" 

"  Baas,  I  was  kept  for  several  days,  I  cannot  re- 
member how  many,  and  only  allowed  out  within  the 
fence  round  the  huts.  Nombe  came  to  see  me  once, 
bringing  this,"  and  she  produced  a  package  sewn  up 
in  a  skin.  "  She  said  that  I  was  to  give  it  to  you  with 
a  message  that  those  whom  you  loved  were  quite  safe 
with  One  who  is  greater  than  any  in  the  land,  and 


282  FINISHED 

therefore  that  you  must  not  grieve  for  them  whose 
troubles  were  over.  I  think  it  was  two  nights  after 
this  that  four  Zulus  came,  two  men  and  two  women, 
and  led  me  away,  as  I  thought  to  kill  me.  But  they  did 
not  kill  me ;  indeed  they  were  very  kind  to  me,  although 
when  I  spoke  to  them  they  pretended  not  to  understand. 
They  took  me  a  long  journey,  travelling  for  the  most 
part  in  the  dark  and  sleeping  in  the  day.  This  evening 
when  the  sun  set  they  brought  me  through  a  Kaffir 
town  and  thrust  me  into  the  hut  where  I  am  without 
speaking  to  any  one.  Here,  being  very  tired,  I  went 
to  sleep,  and  that  is  all." 

And  quite  enough  too,  thought  I  to  myself.  Then 
I  put  her  through  a  cross-examination,  but  Kaatje  was 
a  stupid  woman  although  a  good  and  faithful  servant, 
and  all  her  terrible  experiences  had  not  sharpened  her 
intelligence.  Indeed,  when  I  pressed  her  she  grew 
utterly  confused,  began  to  cry,  thereby  taking  refuge 
in  the  last  impregnable  female  fortification,  and  sniv- 
elled out  that  she  could  not  bear  to  talk  of  her  dear 
mistress  any  more.  So  I  gave  it  up,  and  two  minutes 
later  she  was  literally  snoring,  being  very  tired,  poor 
thing. 

Now  I  tried  to  think  matters  out  as  well  as  this  dis- 
turbance would  allow,  for  nothing  hinders  thought  so 
much  as  snores.  But  what  was  the  use  of  thinking? 
There  was  her  story  to  take  or  to  leave,  and  evidently 
the  honest  creature  believed  what  she  said.  Further, 
how  could  she  be  deceived  on  such  a  point?  She  swore 
that  she  had  seen  Anscombe  and  Heda  dead  and  after- 
wards had  seen  their  graves. 

Moreover,  there  was  confirmation  in  Nombe's  mes- 
sage which  could  not  well  have  been  invented,  that 
spoke  of  their  being  well  in  the  charge  of  a  "  Great 


KAATJE  BRINGS  NEWS  283 

One,"  a  term  by  which  the  Zulus  designate  God,  with 
all  their  troubles  finished.  The  reason  and  manner  of 
their  end  were  left  unrevealed.  Zikali  might  have 
murdered  them  for  his  own  purposes,  or  the  Zulus 
might  have  killed  them  in  obedience  to  the  king's  order 
that  no  white  people  in  the  land  were  to  be  allowed 
to  live.  Or  perhaps  the  Basutos  from  Sekukuni's 
country,  with  whom  the  Zulus  had  some  understand- 
ing, had  followed  and  done  them  to  death ;  indeed  the 
strangling  sounded  more  Basuto  than  Zulu — if  they 
were  really  strangled. 

Almost  overcome  though  I  was,  I  bethought  me  of 
the  package  and  opened  it,  only  to  find  another  ap- 
parent proof  of  their  end,  for  it  contained  Heda's 
jewels  as  I  had  found  them  in  the  bag  in  the  safe; 
also  a  spare  gold  watch  belonging  to  Anscombe  with 
his  coat-of-arms  engraved  upon  it.  That  which  he 
wore  was  of  silver  and  no  doubt  was  buried  with  him, 
since  for  superstitious  reasons  the  natives  would  not 
have  touched  anything  on  his  person  after  death.  This 
seemed  to  me  to  settle  the  matter,  presumptively  at  any 
rate,  since  to  show  that  robbery  was  not  the  cause  of 
their  murder,  their  most  valuable  possessions  which 
were  not  upon  their  persons  had  been  sent  to  me,  their 
friend. 

So  this  was  the  end  of  all  my  efforts  to  secure  the 
safety  and  well-being  of  that  most  unlucky  pair.  I 
wept  when  I  thought  of  it  there  in  the  darkness  of  the 
hut,  for  the  candle  had  burned  out,  and  going  on  to 
my  knees,  put  up  an  earnest  prayer  for  the  welfare  of 
their  souls;  also  that  I  might  be  forgiven  my  folly  in 
leading  them  into  such  danger.  And  yet  I  did  it  for 
the  best,  trying  to  judge  wisely  in  the  light  of  such 
experience  of  the  world  as  I  possessed. 


284  FINISHED 

Now  alas!  when  I  am  old  I  have  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  those  things  which  one  tries  to  do  for  the 
best  one  generally  does  wrong,  because  nearly  always 
there  is  some  tricky  fate  at  hand  to  mar  them,  which 
in  this  instance  was  named  Zikali.  The  fact  is,  I  sup- 
pose, that  man  who  thinks  himself  a  free  agent,  can 
scarcely  be  thus  called,  at  any  rate  so  far  as  immediate 
results  are  concerned.  But  that  is  a  dangerous  doctrine 
about  which  I  will  say  no  more,  for  I  daresay  that  he 
is  engaged  in  weaving  a  great  life-pattern  of  which  he 
only  sees  the  tiniest  piece. 

One  thing  comforted  me  a  little.  If  these  two  were 
dead  I  could  now  leave  Zululand  without  qualms.  Of 
course  I  was  obliged  to  leave  in  any  case,  or  die,  but 
somehow  that  fact  would  not  have  eased  my  con- 
science. Indeed  I  think  that  had  I  believed  they  still 
lived,  in  this  way  or  in  that  I  should  have  tried  not  to 
leave,  because  I  should  have  thought  it  for  the  best  to 
stay  to  help  them,  whereby  in  all  human  probability  I 
should  have  brought  about  my  own  death  without  help- 
ing them  at  all.  Well,  it  had  fallen  out  otherwise  and 
there  was  an  end.  Now  I  could  only  hope  that  they 
had  gone  to  some  place  where  there  are  no  more 
troubles,  even  if,  at  the  worst,  it  were  a  place  of  rest 
too  deep  for  dreams. 

Musing  thus  at  last  I  dozed  off,  for  I  was  so  tired 
that  I  think  I  should  have  slept  although  execution 
awaited  me  at  the  dawn  instead  of  another  journey. 
I  did  not  sleep  well  because  of  that  snoring  female  on 
the  other  side  of  the  hut  whose  presence  outraged  my 
sense  of  propriety  and  caused  me  to  be  invaded  by 
prophetic  dreams  of  the  talk  that  would  ensue  among 
those  scandalmongering  Zulus.  Yes,  it  was  of  this  I 
dreamed,  not  of  the  great  dangers  that  threatened  me 


KAATJE  BRINGS  NEWS  285 

or  of  the  terrible  loss  of  my  friends,  perhaps  because 
to  many  men,  of  whom  I  suppose  I  am  one,  the  fear 
of  scandal  or  of  being  the  object  of  public  notice,  is 
more  than  the  fear  of  danger  or  the  smart  of  sorrow. 

So  the  night  wore  away,  till  at  length  I  woke  to  see 
the  gleam  of  dawn  penetrating  the  smoke-hole  and 
dimly  illuminating  the  recumbent  form  of  Kaatje, 
which  to  me  looked  most  unattractive.  Presently  I 
heard  a  discreet  tapping  on  the  doorboard  of  the  hut 
which  I  at  once  removed,  wriggling  swiftly  through 
the  hole,  careless  in  my  misery  as  to  whether  I  met  an 
assegai  the  other  side  of  it  or  not.  Without  a  guard 
of  eight  soldiers  was  standing,  and  with  them  Goza, 
who  asked  me  if  I  were  ready  to  start. 

''  Quite,"  I  answered,  "  as  soon  as  I  have  saddled  my 
horse,"  which  by  the  way  had  been  led  up  to  the  hut. 

Very  soon  this  was  done,  for  I  brought  out  most  of 
my  few  belongings  with  me  and  the  bag  of  jewels  was 
in  my  pocket.  Then  it  was  that  the  officer  of  the 
guard,  a  thin  and  melancholy-looking  person,  said  in  a 
hollow  voice,  addressing  himself  to  Goza — 

''  The  orders  are  that  the  White  Man's  wife  is  to  go 
with  him.    Where  is  she?" 

"  Where  a  man's  wife  should  be,  in  his  hut,  I  sup- 
pose," answered  Goza  sleepily. 

Rage  filled  me  at  the  words.  Seldom  do  I  remember 
being  so  angry. 

"  Yes,"  I  said,  "  if  you  mean  that  Half-cast  whom 
some  one  has  thrust  upon  me,  she  is  in  there.  So  if 
she  is  to  come  with  us,  perhaps  you  will  get  her  out.'* 

Thus  adjured  the  melancholy-looking  captain,  who 
was  named  Indudu,  perhaps  because  he  or  his  father 
had  belonged  to  the  Dudu  regiment,  crawled  into  the 
hut,  whence  presently  emerged  sounds  not  unlike  those 


286  FINISHED 

which  once  I  heard  when  a  ringhals  cobra  followed  a 
hare  that  I  had  wounded  into  a  hole,  a  muffled  sound 
of  struggling  and  terror.  These  ended  in  the  sudden 
and  violent  appearance  of  Kaatje's  fat  and  dishevelled 
form,  followed  by  that  of  the  snakelike  Indudu. 

Seeing  me  standing  there  before  a  bevy  of  armed 
Zulus,  she  promptly  fell  upon  my  neck  with  a  cry  for 
help,  for  the  silly  woman  thought  she  was  going  to  be 
killed  by  them.  Gripping  me  as  an  octopus  grips  its 
prey,  she  proceeded  to  faint,  dragging  me  to  my  knees 
beneath  the  weight  of  eleven  stone  of  solid  flesh. 

"  Ah  I"  said  one  of  the  Zulus  not  unkindly,  "  she 
is  much  afraid  for  her  husband  whom  she  loves." 

Well,  I  disentangled  myself  somehow,  and  seizing 
what  I  took  to  be  a  gourd  of  water  in  that  dim  light, 
poured  it  over  her  head,  only  to  discover  too  late  that 
it  was  not  water  but  clotted  milk.  However  the  result 
was  the  same,  for  presently  she  sat  up,  made  a  dread- 
ful-looking object  by  this  liberal  application  of  curds 
and  whey,  whereon  I  explained  matters  to  her  to  the 
best  of  my  power.  The  end  of  it  was  that  after  Indudu 
and  Goza  had  wiped  her  down  with  tufts  of  thatch 
dragged  from  the  hut  and  I  had  collected  her  gear  with 
the  rest  of  my  own,  we  set  her  on  the  horse  straddle- 
wise,  and  started,  the  objects  of  much  interest  among 
such  Zulus  as  were  already  abroad. 

At  the  gate  of  the  town  there  was  a  delay  which 
made  me  nervous,  since  in  such  a  case  as  mine  delay 
might  always  mean  a  death-warrant.  I  knew  that  it 
was  quite  possible  Cetewayo  had  changed,  or  been  per- 
suaded to  change  his  mind  and  issue  a  command  that 
I  should  be  killed  as  one  who  had  seen  and  knew  too 
much.  Indeed  this  fear  was  my  constant  companion 
during  all  the  long  journey  to  the  Drift  of  the  Tugela, 


KAATJE  BRINGS  NEWS  287 

causing  me  to  look  askance  at  every  man  we  met  or 
who  overtook  us,  lest  he  should  prove  to  be  a  messenger 
of  doom. 

Nor  were  these  doubts  groundless,  for  as  I  learned 
in  the  after  days,  the  Prime  Minister,  Umnyamana, 
and  others  had  urged  Cetewayo  strongly  to  kill  me, 
and  what  we  were  waiting  for  at  the  gate  were  his  final 
orders  on  the  subject.  However,  in  this  matter,  as 
in  more  that  I  could  mention,  the  king  played  the  part 
of  a  man  of  honour,  and  although  he  seemed  to  hesitate 
for  reasons  of  poHcy,  never  had  any  intention  of  allow- 
ing me  to  be  harmed.  On  the  contrary  the  command 
brought  was  that  any  one  who  harmed  Macumazahn, 
the  king's  guest  and  messenger,  should  die  with  all  his 
House. 

Whilst  we  tarried  a  number  of  women  gathered 
round  us  whose  conversation  I  could  not  help  over- 
hearing.    One  of  them  said  to  another — 

"Look  at  the  white  man,  Watcher-by-Night,  who 
can  knock  a  fly  off  an  ox's  horn  with  a  bullet  from 
further  away  than  we  could  see  it.  He  it  was  who 
loved  and  was  loved  by  the  witch  Mameena,  whose 
beauty  is  still  famous  in  the  land.  They  say  she  killed 
herself  for  his  sake,  because  she  declared  that  she 
would  never  live  to  grow  old  and  ugly,  so  that  he 
turned  away  from  her.  My  mother  told  me  all  about 
it  only  last  night." 

Then  you  have  a  liar  for  a  mother,  thought  I  to 
myself,  for  tc  contradict  such  a  one  openly  would 
have  been  undignified. 

"Is  it  so?"  asked  one  of  her  friends,  deeply  in- 
terested. 

"  Then  the  lady  Mameena  must  have  had  a  strange 
taste  in  men,  for  this  one  is  an  ugly  little  fellow  with 


288  FINISHED 

hair  like  the  grey  ash  of  stubble  and  a  wrinkled  face 
of  the  colour  of  a  flayed  skin  that  has  lain  unstretched 
in  the  sun.  However,  I  have  been  told  that  witches 
always  love  those  who  look  unnatural." 

"  Yes,"  said  Number  one,  "  but  you  see  now  that  he 
is  old  he  has  to  be  satisfied  with  a  different  sort  of  wife. 
She  is  not  beautiful,  is  she,  although  she  has  dipped 
her  head  in  milk  to  make  herself  look  white?" 

So  it  went  on  till  at  length  a  runner  arrived  and 
whispered  something  to  Indudu  who  saluted,  showing 
me  that  it  was  a  royal  message,  and  ordered  us  to 
move.  Of  this  I  was  glad,  for  had  I  stopped  there 
much  longer,  I  think  I  should  have  personally  assaulted 
those  gossiping  female  idiots. 

Of  our  journey  through  Zululand  there  is  nothing 
particular  to  say.  We  saw  but  few  people,  since  most 
of  the  men  had  been  called  up  to  the  army,  and  many 
of  the  kraals  seemed  to  be  deserted  by  the  women  and 
children  who  perhaps  were  hidden  away  with  the 
cattle.  Once,  however,  we  met  an  iinpi  about  five 
thousand  strong,  that  seemed  to  cover  the  hillside  like 
a  herd  of  game.  It  consisted  of  the  Nodwengu  and 
the  Nokenke  regiments,  both  of  which  afterwards 
fought  at  Isandhlwana.  Some  of  their  captains  with 
a  small  guard  came  to  see  who  we  were,  fine,  fierce- 
looking  men.  They  stared  at  me  curiously,  and  with 
one  of  them,  whom  I  knew,  I  had  a  little  talk.  He  said 
that  I  was  the  last  white  man  in  Zululand  and  that  I 
was  lucky  to  be  alive,  for  soon  these,  and  he  pointed  to 
the  hordes  of  warriors  who  were  streaming  past,  would 
eat  up  the  English  to  "  the  last  bone."  I  answered 
that  this  remained  to  be  seen,  as  the  English  were  also 
great  eaters,  whereat  he  laughed,  replying,  that  it  was 


KAATJE  BRINGS  NEWS  289 

true  that  the  white  men  had  already  taken  the  first 
bite — a  very  little  one,  from  which  I  gathered  that 
some  small  engagement  had  happened. 

"  Well,  farewell,  IMacumazahn,"  he  said,  as  he 
turned  to  go,  "  I  hope  that  we  shall  meet  in  the  battle, 
for  I  want  to  see  if  you  can  run  as  well  as  you  can 
shoot." 

This  roused  my  temper  and  I  answered  him — 

"  I  hope  for  your  sake  that  we  shall  not  meet,  for 
if  we  do  I  promise  that  before  I  run  I  will  show  you 
what  you  never  saw  before,  the  gateway  of  the  world 
of  Spirits." 

I  mention  this  conversation  because  by  some  strange 
chance  it  happened  at  Isandhlwana  that  I  killed  this 
man,  who  was  named  Simpofu. 

During  all  those  days  of  trudging  through  hot  suns 
and  thunderstorms,  for  I  had  to  give  up  the  mare  to 
Kaatje  who  was  too  fat  to  walk,  or  said  she  was,  I 
was  literally  haunted  by  thoughts  of  my  murdered 
friends.  Heaven  knows  how  bitterly  I  reproached 
myself  for  having  brought  them  into  Zululand.  It 
seemed  so  terribly  sad  that  these  young  people  who 
loved  each  other  and  had  so  bright  a  future  before 
them,  should  have  escaped  from  a  tragic  past  merely 
to  be  overwhelmed  by  such  a  fate.  Again  and  again 
I  questioned  that  lump  Kaatje  as  to  the  details  of  their 
end  and  of  all  that  went  before  and  followed  after 
the  murder.  But  it  was  quite  useless;  indeed,  as  time 
went  on  she  seemed  to  become  more  nebulous  on  the 
point  as  though  a  picture  were  fading  from  her  mind. 
But  as  to  one  thing  she  was  always  quite  clear,  that 
she  had  seen  them  dead  and  had  seen  their  new-made 
grave.  This  she  swore  "  by  God  in  Heaven,"  com- 
pleting the  oath  with  an  outburst  of  tears  in  a  way 


290  FINISHED 

that  would  have  carried  conviction  to  any  jury,  as  it 
did  to  me. 

And  after  all,  what  was  more  likely  in  the  circum- 
stances? Zikali  had  killed  them,  or  caused  them  to  be 
killed;  or  possibly  they  were  killed  in  spite  of  him  in 
obedience  to  the  express,  or  general,  order  of  the  king, 
if  the  deed  was  not  done  by  the  Basutos.  And  yet  an 
idea  occurred  to  me.  How  about  the  woman  on  the 
rock  that  the  Zulus  thought  was  their  Princess  of  the 
Heavens?  Obviously  this  must  be  nonsense,  since  no 
such  deity  existed,  therefore  the  person  must  either 
have  been  a  white  woman  or  one  painted  up  to  re- 
semble a  white  woman;  seen  from  a  distance  in  moon- 
light it  was  impossible  to  say  which.  Now,  if  it  were 
a  white  woman,  she  might,  from  her  shape  and  height 
and  the  colour  of  her  hair,  be  Heda  herself.  Yet  it 
seemed  incredible  that  Heda,  whom  Kaatje  had  seen 
dead  some  days  before,  could  be  masquerading  in  such 
a  part  and  make  no  sign  of  recognition  to  me,  even 
when  I  covered  her  with  my  pistol,  whereas  that 
Nombe  would  play  it  was  likely  enough. 

Only  then  Nombe  must  be  something  of  a  quick- 
change  artist  since  but  a  little  while  before  she  was 
beyond  doubt  personating  the  dead  Mameena.  If  it 
were  not  so  I  must  have  been  suffering  from  illusions, 
for  certainly  I  seemed  to  see  some  one  who  looked  like 
Mameena,  and  only  Zikali,  and  through  him  Nombe, 
had  sufficient  knowledge  to  enable  her  to  fill  that  role 
with  such  success.  Perhaps  the  whole  business  was 
an  illusion,  though  if  so  Zikali's  powers  must  be  great 
indeed.  But  then  how  about  the  assegai  that 
Nomkubulwana,  or  rather  her  effigy,  had  seemed  to 
hold  and  throw,  whereof  the  blade  was  at  present  in 
my  saddle-bag.     That  at  any  rate  was  tangible  and 


KAATJE  BRINGS  NEWS  291 

real,  though  of  course  there  was  nothing  to  prove  that 
it  had  really  been  Chaka's  famous  weapon. 

Another  thing  that  tormented  me  was  my  failure  to 
see  Zikali.  I  felt  as  though  I  had  committed  a  crime 
in  leaving  Zululand  without  doing  this  and  hearing 
from  his  own  lips — well,  whatever  he  chose  to  tell  me. 
I  forget  if  I  said  that  while  we  were  waiting  at  the 
gate  where  those  silly  women  talked  so  much  non- 
sense about  Mameena  and  Kaatje,  that  I  made  another 
effort  through  Goza  to  get  into  touch  with  the  wizard, 
but  quite  without  avail.  Goza  only  answered  what  he 
said  before,  that  if  I  wished  to  die  at  once,  I  had  better 
take  ten  steps  towards  the  Valley  of  Bones,  whence, 
he  added  parenthetically,  the  Opener  of  Roads  had 
already  departed  on  his  homeward  journey.  This 
might  or  might  not  be  true;  at  any  rate  I  could  find 
no  possible  way  of  coming  face  to  face  with  him,  or 
even  of  getting  a  message  to  his  ear.  No,  I  was  not 
to  blame;  I  had  done  all  I  could,  and  yet  in  my  heart 
I  felt  guilty.  But  then,  as  cynics  would  say,  failure 
is  guilt. 

At  length  we  came  to  the  ford  of  the  Tugela,  and 
as  fortunately  the  water  was  just  low  enough,  bade 
farewell  to  our  escort  before  crossing  to  the  Natal  side. 
My  parting  with  Goza  was  quite  touching,  for  we  felt 
that  it  partook  of  the  nature  of  a  deathbed  adieu,  which 
indeed  it  did.  I  told  him  and  the  others  that  I  hoped 
their  ends  would  be  easy,  and  that  whether  they  met 
them  by  bullets  or  by  bayonet  thrusts,  the  wounds 
would  prove  quickly  mortal  so  that  they  might  not 
linger  in  discomfort  or  pain.  Recognizing  my  kind 
thought  for  their  true  welfare  they  thanked  me  for  it, 
though  with  no  enthusiasm.  Indudu,  however,  filled 
with  the  spirit  of  repartee,  or  rather  of  tu  quoque, 


292  FINISHED 

said  in  his  melancholy  fashion  that  if  he  and  I  came 
face  to  face  in  war,  he  would  be  sure  to  remember 
my  words  and  to  cut  me  up  in  the  best  style,  since  he 
could  not  bear  to  think  of  me  languishing  on  a  bed  of 
sickness  without  my  wife  Kaatje  to  nurse  me  (they 
knew  I  was  touchy  about  Kaatje).  Then  we  shook 
hands  and  parted.  Kaatje,  hung  round  with  parapher- 
nalia like  the  White  Knight  in  "  Alice  through  the 
Looking-glass,"  clinging  to  a  cooking-pot  and  weeping 
tears  of  terror,  faced  the  foaming  flood  upon  the  mare, 
while  I  grasped  its  tail. 

When  we  were  as  I  judged  out  of  assegai  shot,  I 
turned,  with  the  water  up  to  my  armpits,  and  shouted 
some  valedictory  words. 

"  Tell  your  king,"  I  said,  "  that  he  is  the  greatest 
fool  in  the  world  to  fight  the  English,  since  it  will 
bring  his  country  to  destruction  and  himself  to  dis- 
grace and  death,  as  at  last,  in  the  words  of  your 
proverb,  '  the  swimmer  goes  down  with  the  stream.'  " 

Here,  as  it  happened,  I  slipped  off  the  stone  on 
which  I  was  standing  and  nearly  went  down  with  the 
stream  myself. 

Emerging  with  my  mouth  full  of  muddy  water  I 
waited  till  they  had  done  laughing  and  continued — 

"  Tell  that  old  rogue,  Zikali,  that  I  know  he  has 
murdered  my  friends  and  that  when  we  meet  again 
he  and  all  who  were  in  the  plot  shall  pay  for  it  with 
their  lives." 

Now  an  irritated  Zulu  flung  an  assegai,  and  as  the 
range  proved  to  be  shorter  than  I  thought,  for  it  went 
through  Kaatje's  dress,  causing  her  to  scream  with 
alarm,  I  ceased  from  eloquence,  and  we  struggled  on  to 
the  further  bank,  where  at  length  we  were  safe. 

Thus  ended  this  unlucky  trip  of  mine  to  Zululand. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

ISANDHLWANA 

We  had  crossed  the  Tugela  by  what  is  known  as  the 
Middle  Drift.  A  mile  or  so  on  the  further  side  of  it 
I  was  challenged  by  a  young  fellow  in  charge  of  some 
mounted  natives,  and  found  that  I  had  stumbled  into 
what  was  known  as  No.  2  Column,  which  consisted  of 
a  rocket  battery,  three  battalions  of  the  Native  Con- 
tingent and  some  troops  of  mounted  natives,  all  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Durnford,  R.E. 

After  explanations  I  was  taken  to  this  officer's  head- 
quarter tent.  He  was  a  tall,  nervous-looking  man  with 
a  fair,  handsome  face  and  long  side-whiskers.  One  of 
his  arms,  I  remember,  was  supported  by  a  sling;  I  think 
it  had  been  injured  in  some  Kaffir  fighting.  When  I 
was  introduced  to  him  he  was  very  busy,  having, .  I 
understood  from  some  one  on  his  staff,  just  received 
orders  to  "  operate  against  Matshana.** 

Learning  that  I  had  come  from  Zululand  and  was 
acquainted  with  the  Zulus,  he  at  once  began  to  cross- 
examine  me  about  Matshana,  a  chief  of  whom  he 
seemed  to  know  very  little  indeed.  I  told  him  what  I 
could,  which  was  not  much,  and  before  I  could  give 
him  any  information  of  real  importance,  was  shown 
out  and  most  hospitably  entertained  at  luncheon,  a 
meal  of  which  I  partook  with  gratitude  in  some  gar- 
ments that  I  had  borrowed  from  one  of  the  officers, 
while  my  own  were  set  in  the  sun  to  dry.    Well  can  I 

293 


294  FINISHED 

recall  how  much  I  enjoyed  the  first  whisky  and 
soda  that  I  had  tasted  since  I  left  '*  the  Temple," 
and  the  good  English  food  by  which  it  was  ac- 
companied. 

Presently  I  remembered  Kaatje,  whom  I  had  left 
outside  with  some  native  women,  and  went  to  see  what 
had  happened  to  her.  I  found  her  finishing  a  hearty 
meal  and  engaged  in  conversation  with  a  young  gentle- 
jnan  who  was  writing  in  a  notebook.  Afterwards  I 
discovered  that  he  was  a  newspaper  correspondent. 
What  she  told  him  and  what  he  imagined,  I  do  not 
know,  but  I  may  as  well  state  the  results  at  once. 
Within  a  few  days  there  appeared  in  one  of  the  Natal 
papers  and,  for  aught  I  know,  all  over  the  earth,  an 
announcement  that  Mr.  Allan  Quatermain,  a  well- 
known  hunter  in  Zululand,  after  many  adventures,  had 
escaped  from  that  country,  "  together  with  his  favour- 
ite native  wife,  the  only  survivor  of  his  extensive 
domestic  establishment."  Then  followed  some  wild 
details  as  to  the  murder  of  my  other  wives  by  a  Zulu 
wizard  called  **  Road  Mender,  or  Sick  Ass"  (i.e. 
Opener  of  Roads,  or  Zikali),  and  so  on. 

I  was  furious  and  interviewed  the  editor,  a  mild 
and  apologetic  little  man,  who  assured  me  that  the 
despatch  was  printed  exactly  as  it  had  been  received, 
as  though  that  bettered  the  case.  After  this  I  com- 
menced an  action  for  libel,  but  as  I  was  absent  through 
circumstances  over  which  I  had  no  control  when  it 
came  on  for  trial,  the  case  was  dismissed.  I  sup- 
pose the  truth  was  that  they  mixed  me  up  with  a 
certain  well-known  white  man  in  Zululand,  who  had 
a  large  '*  domestic  establishment,"  but  however  this 
may  be,  it  was  a  long  while  before  I  heard  the  last  of 
that  "  favourite  native  wife." 


ISANDHLWANA  295 

Later  in  the  day  I  and  Kaatje,  who  stuck  to  me  Hke 
a  burr,  departed  from  the  camp. 

The  rest  of  our  journey  was  uneventful,  except 
for  more  misunderstandings  about  Kaatje,  one  of 
which,  wherein  a  clergyman  was  concerned,  was  too 
painful  to  relate.  At  last  we  reached  Maritzburg, 
where  I  deposited  Kaatje  in  a  boarding-house  kept  by 
another  half-caste,  and  with  a  sigh  of  relief  betook 
myself  to  the  Plough  Hotel,  which  was  a  long  way  off 
her. 

Subsequently  she  obtained  a  place  as  a  cook  at 
Howick,  and  for  a  while  I  saw  her  no  more. 

At  Maritzburg,  as  in  duty  bound,  I  called  upon 
various  persons  in  authority  and  delivered  Cetewayo's 
message,  leaving  out  all  Zikali's  witchcraft  which 
would  have  sounded  absurd.  It  did  not  produce  much 
impression  as,  hostilities  having  already  occurred,  it 
was  superfluous.  Also  no  one  was  inclined  to  pay  at- 
tention to  the  words  of  one  who  was  neither  an  official 
nor  a  military  officer,  but  a  mere  hunter  supposed  to 
have  brought  a  native  wife  out  of  Zululand. 

I  did,  however,  report  the  murder  of  Anscombe  and 
Heda,  though  in  such  times  this  caused  no  excitement, 
especially  as  they  were  not  known  to  the  officials  con- 
cerned with  such  matters.  Indeed  the  occurrence 
never  so  much  as  got  into  the  papers,  any  more  than 
did  the  deaths  of  Rodd  and  Marnham  on  the  borders 
of  Sekukuni's  country.  When  people  are  expecting 
to  be  massacred  themselves,  they  do  not  trouble  about 
the  past  killing  of  others  far  away.  Lastly,  I  posted 
Marnham's  will  to  the  Pretoria  bank,  advising  them 
that  they  had  better  keep  it  safely  until  some  claim 
arose,  and  deposited  Heda's  jewels  and  valuables  in 
another  branch  of  the  same  bank  in  Maritzburg  with 


296  FINISHED 

a  sealed  statement  as  to  how  they  came  into  my,  pos- 
session. 

These  things  done,  I  found  it  necessary  to  turn  my- 
self to  the  eternal  problem  of  earning  my  living.  I 
am  a  very  rich  man  now  as  I  write  these  reminiscences 
here  in  Yorkshire — King  Solomon's  mines  made  me 
that — but  up  to  the  time  of  my  journey  to  Kukuana 
Land  with  my  friends,  Curtis  and  Good,  although 
plenty  of  money  passed  through  my  hands  on  one 
occasion  and  another,  little  of  it  ever  seemed  to  stick. 
In  this  way  or  that  it  was  lost  or  melted;  also  I  was 
not  born  one  to  make  the  best  of  his  opportunities  in 
the  way  of  acquiring  wealth.  Perhaps  this  was  good 
for  me,  since  if  I  had  gained  the  cash  early  I  should 
not  have  met  with  the  experiences,  and  during  our  few 
transitory  years,  experience  is  of  more  real  value  than 
cash.  It  may  prepare  us  for  other  things  beyond, 
whereas  the  mere  possession  of  a  bank  balance  can 
prepare  us  for  nothing  in  a  land  where  gold  ceases  to 
be  an  object  of  worship  as  it  is  here.  Yet  wealth  is 
our  god,  not  knowledge  or  wisdom,  a  fact  which  shows 
that  the  real  essence  of  Christianity  has  not  yet  per- 
meated human  morals.  It  just  runs  over  their  surface, 
no  more,  and  for  every  eye  that  is  turned  towards  the 
divine  Vision,  a  thousand  are  fixed  night  and  day  upon 
Mammon's  glittering  image. 

Now  I  owned  certain  wagons  and  oxen,  and  just 
then  the  demand  for  these  was  keen.  So  I  hired  them 
out  to  the  miltiary  authorities  for  service  in  the  war, 
and  incidentally  myself  with  them.  I  drove  what  I 
considered  a  splendid  bargain  with  an  officer  who 
wrote  as  many  letters  after  his  name  as  a  Governor- 
General,  but  was  really  something  quite  humble.  At 
least  I  thought  it  splendid  until  outside  his  tent  I  met 


ISANDHLWANA  297 

a  certain  transport  rider  of  my  acquaintance  whom  I 
had  always  looked  upon  as  a  perfect  fool,  who  told  me 
that  not  half  an  hour  before  he  had  got  twenty  per 
cent,  more  for  unsalted  oxen  and  very  rickety  wagons. 
However,  it  did  not  matter  much  in  the  end  as  the 
whole  outfit  was  lost  at  Isandhlwana,  and  owing  to  the 
lack  of  some  formality  which  I  had  overlooked,  I  never 
recovered  more  than  a  tithe  of  their  value.  I  think  it 
was  that  I  neglected  to  claim  within  a  certain  specified 
time. 

At  last  my  wagons  were  laden  with  ammunition  and 
other  Government  goods  and  I  trekked  over  awful 
roads  to  Helpmakaar,  a  place  on  the  Highlands  not  far 
from  Rorke's  Drift  where  No.  3  Column  was  sta- 
tioned. Here  we  were  delayed  awhile,  I  and  my 
wagons  having  moved  to  a  ford  of  the  Buffalo,  to- 
gether with  many  others.  It  was  during  this  time  that 
I  ventured  to  make  very  urgent  representations  to  cer- 
tain highly  placed  officers,  I  will  not  mention  which, 
as  to  the  necessity  of  laagering,  that  is,  forming  forti- 
fied camps,  as  soon  as  Zululand  was  entered,  since 
from  my  intimate  knowledge  of  its  people  I  was  sure 
that  they  would  attack  in  force.  These  warnings  of 
mine  were  received  with  the  most  perfect  politeness 
and  offers  of  gin  to  drink,  which  all  transport  riders 
were  supposed  to  love,  but  in  effect  were  treated  with 
the  contempt  that  they  were  held  to  deserve.  The  sub- 
ject is  painful  and  one  on  which  I  will  not  dwell. 
Why  should  I  complain  when  I  know  that  cautions 
from  notable  persons  such  as  Sir  Melmoth  Osborn, 
and  J.  J.  Uys,  a  member  of  one  of  the  old  Dutch 
fighting  families,  met  with  a  like  fate. 

By  the  way  it  was  while  I  was  waiting  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  that  I  came  across  an  old  friend  of  mine, 


298  FINISHED 

a  Zulu  named  Magepa,  with  whom  I  had  fought  at 
the  battle  of  the  Tugela.  A  few  days  later  this  man 
performed  an  extraordinary  feat  in  saving  his  grand- 
child from  death  by  his  great  swiftness  in  running, 
whereof  I  have  preserved  a  note  somewhere  or  other. 

Ultimately  on  January  1 1  we  received  our  marching 
orders  and  crossed  the  river  by  the  drift,  the  general 
scheme  of  the  campaign  being  that  the  various  columns 
were  to  converge  upon  Ulundi.  The  roads,  if  so  they 
can  be  called,  were  in  such  a  fearful  state  that  it  took 
us  ten  days  to  cover  as  many  miles.  At  length  we 
trekked  over  a  stony  nek  about  five  hundred  yards  in 
width.  To  the  right  of  us  was  a  stony  eminence  and 
to  our  left,  its  sheer  brown  cliffs  of  rock  rising  like  the 
walls  of  some  cyclopean  fortress,  the  strange,  abrupt 
mount  of  Isandhlwana,  which  reminded  me  of  a  huge 
lion  crouching  above  the  hill-encircled  plain  beyond. 
At  the  foot  of  this  isolated  mount,  whereof  the  aspect 
somehow  filled  me  with  alarm,  we  camped  on  the  night 
of  January  21,  taking  no  precautions  against  attack 
by  way  of  laagering  the  wagons.  Indeed  the  last  thing 
that  seemed  to  occur  to  those  in  command  was  that 
there  would  be  serious  fighting;  men  marched  forward 
to  their  deaths  as  though  they  were  going  on  a  shoot- 
ing-party, or  to  a  picnic.  I  even  saw  cricketing  bats 
and  wickets  occupying  some  of  the  scanty  space  upon 
the  wagons. 

Now  I  am  not  going  to  set  out  all  the  military  de- 
tails that  preceded  the  massacre  of  Isandhlwana,  for 
these  are  written  in  history.  It  is  enough  to  say  that 
on  the  night  of  January  21,  Major  Dartnell,  who  was 
in  command  of  the  Natal  Mounted  Police  and  had  been 
sent  out  to  reconnoitre  the  country  beyond  Isandhl- 
wana, reported  a  strong  force  of  Zulus  in  front  of  us. 


ISANDHLWANA  299 

Thereon  Lord  Chelmsford,  the  General-in-Chief, 
moved  out  from  the  camp  at  dawn  to  his  support, 
taking  with  him  six  companies  of  the  24th  regiment, 
together  with  four  guns  and  the  mounted  infantry. 
There  were  left  in  the  camp  two  guns  and  about  eight 
hundred  white  and  nine  hundred  native  troops,  also 
some  transport  riders  such  as  myself  and  a  number  of 
miscellaneous  camp-followers.  I  saw  him  go  from  be- 
tween the  curtains  of  one  of  my  wagons  where  I  had 
made  my  bed  on  the  top  of  a  pile  of  baggage.  Indeed 
I  had  already  dressed  myself  at  the  time,  for  that  night 
I  slept  very  ill  because  I  knew  our  danger,  and  my 
heart  was  heavy  with  fear. 

About  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  Colonel  Durn- 
ford,  whom  I  have  mentioned  already,  rode  up  with 
five  hundred  Natal  Zulus,  about  half  of  whom  were 
mounted,  and  two  rocket  tubes  which,  of  course,  were 
worked  by  white  men.  This  was  after  a  patrol  had 
reported  that  they  had  come  into  touch  with  some 
Zulus  on  the  left  front,  who  retired  before  them. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  these  Zulus  were  foraging  in  the 
mealie  fields,  since  owing  to  the  drought  food  was 
very  scarce  in  Zululand  that  year  and  the  regiments 
were  hungry.  I  happened  to  see  the  meeting  between 
Colonel  Pulleine,  a  short,  stout  man  who  was  then  in 
command  of  the  camp,  and  Colonel  Durnford  who, 
as  his  senior  ofificer,  took  it  over  from  him,  and  heard 
Colonel  Pulleine  say  that  his  orders  were  "  to  defend 
the  camp,"  but  what  else  passed  between  them  I  do 
not  know. 

Presently  Colonel  Durnford  saw  and  recognized  me. 

"  Do  you  think  the  Zulus  will  attack  us,  Mr.  Quater- 
main  ?"  he  said. 

"  I  don't  think  so,  Sir,"  I  answered,  "  as  it  is  the 


300  FINISHED 

day  of  the  new  moon  which  they  hold  unlucky.  But 
to-morrow  it  may  be  different." 

Then  he  gave  certain  orders,  despatching  Captain 
George  Shepstone  with  a  body  of  mounted  natives 
along  the  ridge  to  the  left,  where  presently  they  came 
in  contact  with  the  Zulus  about  three  miles  away,  and 
making  other  dispositions.  A  little  later  he  moved 
out  to  the  front  with  a  strong  escort,  followed  by  the 
rocket  battery,  which  ultimately  advanced  to  a  small 
conical  hill  on  the  left  front,  round  which  it  passed, 
never  to  return  again. 

Just  before  he  started  Colonel  Durnford,  seeing  me 
still  standing  there,  asked  me  if  I  would  like  to  ac- 
company him,  adding  that  as  I  knew  the  Zulus  so 
well  I  might  be  useful.  I  answered.  Certainly,  and 
called  to  my  head  driver,  a  man  named  Jan,  to  bring 
me  my  mare,  the  same  that  I  had  ridden  out  of  Zulu- 
land,  while  I  slipped  into  the  wagon  and,  in  addition  to 
the  beltful  that  I  wore,  filled  all  my  available  pockets 
with  cartridges  for  my  double-barrelled  Express 
rifle. 

As  I  mounted  I  gave  Jan  certain  directions  about  the 
wagon  and  oxen,  to  which  he  listened,  and  then  to  my 
astonishment  held  out  his  hand  to  me,  saying — 

"  Good-bye,  Baas.  You  have  been  a  kind  master  to 
me  and  I  thank  you." 

"  Why  do  you  say  that  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Because,  Baas,  all  the  Kaffirs  declare  that  the  great 
Zulu  impi  will  be  on  to  us  in  an  hour  or  two  and  eat 
up  every  man.  I  can't  tell  how  they  know  it,  but  so 
they  swear." 

"  Nonsense,"  I  answered,  "  it  is  the  day  of  the  new 
moon  when  the  Zulus  don't  fight.  Still  if  anything  of 
the  sort  should  happen,  you  and  the  other  boys  had 


ISANDHLWANA  301 

better  slip  away  to  Natal,  since  the  Government  must 
pay  for  the  wagons  and  oxen." 

This  I  said  half  joking,  but  it  was  a  lucky  jest  for 
Jan  and  the  rest  of  my  servants,  since  they  interpreted 
it  in  earnest  and  with  the  exception  of  one  of  them 
who  went  back  to  get  a  gun,  got  off  before  the  Zulu 
horn  closed  round  the  camp,  and  crossed  the  river  in 
safety. 

Next  moment  I  was  cantering  away  after  Colonel 
Durnford,  whom  I  caught  up  with  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  the  camp. 

Now  of  course  I  did  not  see  all  of  the  terrible  battle 
that  followed  and  can  only  tell  of  that  part  of  it  in 
which  I  had  a  share.  Colonel  Durnford  rode  out 
about  three  and  a  half  miles  to  the  left  front,  I  really 
don't  quite  know  why,  for  already  we  were  hearing 
firing  on  the  top  of  the  Nqutu  Hills  almost  behind  us, 
where  Captain  Shepstone  was  engaging  the  Zulus,  or 
so  I  believe.  Suddenly  we  met  a  trooper  of  the  Natal 
Carabineers  whose  name  was  Whitelaw,  who  had  been 
out  scouting.  He  reported  that  an  enormous  impi 
was  just  ahead  of  us  seated  in  an  umkiimhi,  or  semi- 
circle, as  is  the  fashion  of  the  Zulus  before  they 
charge.  At  least  some  of  them,  he  said,  were  so  seated, 
but  others  were  already  advancing. 

Presently  these  appeared  over  the  crest  of  the  hill, 
ten  thousand  of  them  I  should  say,  and  amongst  them 
I  recognized  the  shields  of  the  Nodwengu,  the  Dududu, 
the  Nokenke  and  the  Ingoba-makosi  regiments.  Now 
there  was  nothing  to  be  done  except  retreat,  for  the 
impi  was  attacking  in  earnest.  The  General  Untshing- 
wayo,  together  with  Undabuko,  Cetewayo's  brother, 
and  the  chief  Usibebu  who  commanded  the  scouts, 
had  agreed  not  to  fight  this  day  for  the  reason  I  have 


302  FINISHED 

given,  because  it  was  that  of  the  new  moon,  but  cir- 
cumstances had  forced  their  hand  and  the  regiments 
could  no  longer  be  restrained.  So  to  the  number  of 
twenty  thousand  or  more,  say  one-third  of  the  total 
Zulu  army,  they  hurled  themselves  upon  the  little 
English  force  that,  owing  to  lack  of  generalship,  was 
scattered  here  and  there  over  a  wide  front  and  had  no 
fortified  base  upon  which  to  withdraw. 

We  fell  back  to  a  donga  which  we  held  for  a  little 
while,  and  then  as  we  saw  that  there  we  should  pres- 
ently be  overwhelmed,  withdrew  gradually  for  another 
two  miles  or  so,  keeping  off  the  Zulus  by  our  fire.  In 
so  doing  we  came  upon  the  remains  of  the  rocket  bat- 
tery near  the  foot  of  the  conical  hill  I  have  mentioned, 
which  had  been  destroyed  by  some  regiment  that  passed 
behind  us  in  its  rush  on  the  camp.  There  lay  all  the 
soldiers  dead,  assegaied  through  and  through,  and  I 
noticed  that  one  young  fellow  who  had  been  shot 
through  the  head,  still  held  a  rocket  in  his  hands. 

Now  somewhat  behind  and  perhaps  half  a  mile  to 
the  right  of  this  hill  a  long,  shallow  donga  runs  across 
the  Isandhlwana  plain.  This  we  gained,  and  being 
there  reinforced  by  about  fifty  of  the  Natal  Carabineers 
under  Captain  Bradstreet,  held  it  for  a  long  while, 
keeping  off  the  Zulus  by  our  terrible  fire  which  cut 
down  scores  of  them  every  time  they  attempted  to 
advance.  At  this  spot  I  alone  killed  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  of  them,  for  if  the  big  bullet  from  my  Express 
rifle  struck  a  man,  he  did  not  live.  Messengers  were 
sent  back  to  the  camp  for  more  ammunition,  but  none 
arrived.  Heaven  knows  why.  My  own  belief  is  that 
the  reserve  cartridges  were  packed  away  in  boxes  and 
could  not  be  got  at.  At  last  our  supply  began  to  run 
short,  so  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  except  retreat 


ISANDHLWANA  303 

upon  the  camp  which  was  perhaps  half  a  mile  behind 
us. 

Taking  advantage  of  a  pause  in  the  Zulu  advance 
which  had  lain  down  while  waiting  for  reserves, 
Colonel  Durnford  ordered  a  retirement  that  was  car- 
ried out  very  well.  Up  to  that  time  we  had  lost  only 
quite  a  few  men,  for  the  Zulu  fire  was  wild  and  high 
and  they  had  not  been  able  to  get  at  us  with  the  assegai. 
As  we  rode  towards  the  mount  I  observed  that  firing 
was  going  on  in  all  directions,  especially  on  the  nek 
that  connected  it  with  the  Nqutu  range  where  Captain 
Shepstone  and  his  mounted  Basutos  were  wiped  out 
while  trying  to  hold  back  the  Zulu  right  horn.  The 
guns,  too,  were  firing  heavily  and  doing  great  execu- 
tion. 

After  this  all  grew  confused.  Colonel  Durnford 
gave  orders  to  certain  officers  who  came  up  to  him, 
Captain  Essex  was  one  and  Lieutenant  Cochrane  an- 
other. Then  his  force  made  for  their  wagons  to  get 
more  ammunition.  I  kept  near  to  the  Colonel  and  a 
while  later  found  myself  with  him  and  a  large,  mixed 
body  of  men  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  nek  which  we 
had  crossed  in  our  advance  from  the  river.  Not  long 
afterwards  there  was  a  cry  of  "  The  Zulus  are  getting 
round  us !"  and  looking  to  the  left  I  saw  them  pouring 
in  hundreds  across  the  ridge  that  joins  Isandhlwana 
Mountain  to  the  Nqutu  Range.  Also  they  were  ad- 
vancing straight  on  to  the  camp. 

Then  the  rout  began.  Already  the  native  auxiliaries 
were  slipping  away  and  now  the  others  followed.  Of 
course  this  battle  was  but  a  small  affair,  yet  I  think 
that  few  have  been  more  terrible,  at  any  rate  in  modern 
times.  The  aspect  of  those  plumed  and  shielded  Zulus 
as  they  charged,  shouting  their  war-cries  and  waving 


304  FINISHED 

their  spears,  was  awesome.  They  were  mown  down 
in  hundreds  by  the  Martini  fire,  but  still  they  came  on, 
and  I  knew  that  the  game  was  up.  A  maddened  horde 
of  fugitives,  mostly  natives,  began  to  flow  past  us  over 
the  nek,  making  for  what  was  afterwards  called  Fugi- 
tives' Drift,  nine  miles  away,  and  with  them  went  white 
soldiers,  some  mounted,  some  on  foot.  Mingled  with 
all  these  people,  following  them,  on  either  side  of 
them,  rushed  Zulus,  stabbing  as  they  ran.  Other 
groups  of  soldiers  formed  themselves  into  rough 
squares,  on  which  the  savage  warriors  broke  like  water 
on  a  rock.  By  degrees  ammunition  ran  out;  only  the 
bayonet  remained.  Still  the  Zulus  could  not  break 
those  squares.  So  they  took  another  counsel.  With- 
drawing a  few  paces  beyond  the  reach  of  the  bayonets, 
they  overwhelmed  the  soldiers  by  throwing  assegais, 
then  rushed  in  and  finished  them. 

This  was  what  happened  to  us,  among  whom  were 
men  of  the  24th,  Natal  Carabineers  and  Mounted 
Police.  Some  had  dismounted,  but  I  sat  on  my  horse, 
which  stood  quite  still,  I  think  from  fright,  and  fired 
away  so  long  as  I  had  any  ammunition.  With  my 
very  last  cartridge  I  killed  the  Captain  Indudu  who 
had  been  in  charge  of  the  escort  that  conducted  me  to 
the  Tugela.  He  had  caught  sight  of  me  and  called 
out — 

"  Now,  Macumazahn,  I  will  cut  you  up  nicely  as  I 
promised." 

He  got  no  further  in  his  speech,  for  at  that  moment 
I  sent  an  Express  bullet  through  him  and  his  tall, 
melancholy  figure  doubled  up  and  collapsed. 

All  this  while  Colonel  Durnford  had  been  behaving 
as  a  British  officer  should  do.  Scorning  to  attempt 
flight,  whenever  I  looked  round  I  caught  sight  of  his 


( 


ISANDHLWANA  305 

tall  form,  easy  to  recognize  by  the  long  fair  moustaches 
and  his  arm  in  a  sling,  moving  to  and  fro  encouraging 
us  to  stand  firm  and  die  like  men.  Then  suddenly  I 
saw  a  Kaffir,  who  carried  a  big  old  smooth-bore  gun, 
aim  at  him  from  a  distance  of  about  twenty  yards,  and 
fire.  He  went  down,  as  I  believe  dead,  and  that  was 
the  end  of  a  very  gallant  officer  and  gentleman  whose 
military  memory  has  in  my  opinion  been  most  un- 
justly attacked.  The  real  blame  for  that  disaster  does 
not  rest  upon  the  shoulders  of  either  Colonel  Durnford 
or  Colonel  Pulleine. 

After  this  things  grew  very  awful.  Some  fled,  but 
the  most  stood  and  died  where  they  were.  Oddly 
enough  during  all  this  time  I  was  never  touched.  Men 
fell  to  my  right  and  left  and  in  front  of  me;  bullets 
and  assegai  whizzed  past  me,  yet  I  remained  quite 
unhurt.  It  was  as  though  some  Power  protected  me, 
which  no  doubt  it  did. 

At  length  when  nearly  all  had  fallen  and  I  had  noth- 
ing left  to  defend  myself  with  except  my  revolver,  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  it  was  time  to  go.  My  first 
impulse  was  to  ride  for  the  river  nine  miles  away. 
Looking  behind  me  I  saw  that  the  rough  road  was  full 
of  Zulus  hunting  down  those  who  tried  to  escape.  Still 
I  thought  I  would  try  it,  when  suddenly  there  flashed 
across  my  brain  the  saying  of  whoever  it  was  that 
personated  Mameena  in  the  Valley  of  Bones,  to  the 
effect  that  in  the  great  rout  of  the  battle  I  was  not  to 
join  the  flying  but  to  set  my  face  towards  Ulundi,  and 
that  if  I  did  so  I  should  be  protected  and  no  harm 
would  come  to  me.  I  knew  that  all  this  prophecy  was 
but  a  vain  thing  fondly  imagined,  although  it  was  true 
that  the  battle  and  the  rout  had  come.  And  yet  I  acted 
on  it — why  Heaven  knows  alone. 


3o6  FINISHED 

Setting  the  spurs  to  my  horse  I  galloped  off  past 
Isandhlwana  Mount,  on  the  southern  slopes  of  which 
a  body  of  the  24th  were  still  fighting  their  last  fight, 
and  heading  for  the  Nqutu  Range.  The  plain  was 
full  of  Zulus,  reserves  running  up;  also  to  the  right 
of  me  the  Ulundi  and  Gikazi  divisions  were  streaming 
forward.  These,  or  some  of  them,  formed  the  left 
horn  of  the  impi,  but  owing  to  the  unprepared  nature 
of  the  Zulu  battle,  for  it  must  always  be  remembered 
that  they  did  not  mean  to  fight  that  day,  their  advance 
had  been  delayed  until  it  was  too  late  for  them  entirely 
to  enclose  the  camp.  Thus  the  road,  if  it  can  so  be 
called,  to  Fugitives'  Drift  was  left  open  for  a  while, 
and  by  it  some  effected  their  escape.  It  was  this  horn, 
or  part  of  it,  that  afterwards  moved  on  and  attacked 
Rorke's  Drift,  with  results  disastrous  to  itself. 

For  some  hundreds  of  yards  I  rode  on  thus  reck- 
lessly, because  recklessness  seemed  my  only  chance. 
Thrice  I  met  bodies  of  Zulus,  but  on  each  occasion 
they  scattered  before  me,  calling  out  words  that  I 
could  not  catch.  It  was  as  though  they  were  frightened 
of  something  they  saw  about  me.  Perhaps  they 
thought  that  I  was  mad  to  ride  thus  among  them. 
Indeed  I  must  have  looked  mad,  or  perhaps  there  was 
something  else.  At  any  rate  I  believed  that  I  was 
going  to  win  right  through  them  when  an  accident 
happened. 

A  bullet  struck  my  mare  somewhere  in  the  back. 
I  don't  know  where  it  came  from,  but  as  I  saw  no 
Zulu  shoot,  I  think  it  must  have  been  one  fired  by  a 
soldier  who  was  still  fighting  on  the  slopes  of  the 
mount.  The  effect  of  it  was  to  make  the  poor  beast 
quite  ungovernable.  Round  she  wheeled  and  galloped 
at  headlong  speed  back  towards  the  peak,  leaping  over 


ISANDHLWANA  307 

dead  and  dying  and  breaking  through  the  living  as 
she  went.  In  two  minutes  we  were  rushing  up  its 
northern  flank,  which  seemed  to  be  quite  untenanted, 
towards  the  sheer  brown  cHff  which  rose  above  it,  for 
the  fighting  was  in  progress  on  the  other  side.  Sud- 
denly at  the  foot  of  this  cliff  the  mare  stopped,  shiv- 
ered and  sank  down  dead,  probably  from  internal 
bleeding. 

I  looked  about  me  desperately.  To  attempt  the  plain 
on  foot  meant  death.  What  then  was  I  to  do  ?  Glanc- 
ing at  the  cliff  I  saw  that  there  was  a  gully  in  it  worn 
by  thousands  of  years  of  rainfall,  in  which  grew 
scanty  bushes.  Into  this  I  ran,  and  finding  it  practica- 
ble though  difficult,  began  to  climb  upwards,  quite  un- 
noticed by  the  Zulus  who  were  all  employed  upon  the 
further  side.  The  end  of  it  was  that  I  reached  the 
very  crest  of  the  mount,  a  patch  of  bare,  brown  rock, 
except  at  one  spot  on  its  southern  front  where  there 
was  a  little  hollow  in  which  at  this  rainy  season  of 
the  year  herbage  and  ferns  grew  in  the  accumulated 
soil,  also  a  few  stunted,  aloe-like  plants. 

Into  this  patch  I  crept,  having  first  slaked  my  thirst 
from  a  little  pool  of  rain  water  that  lay  in  a  cup-like 
depression  of  the  rock,  which  tasted  more  delicious 
than  any  nectar,  and  seemed  to  give  me  new  life.  Then 
covering  myself  as  well  as  I  could  with  grasses  and 
dried  leaves  from  the  aloe  plants,  I  lay  still. 

Now  I  was  right  on  the  brink  of  the  cliff  and  had  the 
best  view  of  the  Isandhlwana  plain  and  the  surround- 
ing country  that  can  be  imagined.  From  my  lofty 
eyrie  some  hundreds  of  feet  in  the  air,  I  could  see 
everything  that  happened  beneath.  Thus  I  witnessed 
the  destruction  of  the  last  of  the  soldiers  on  the  slopes 
below.    They  made  a  gallant  end,  so  gallant  that  I  was 


3o8  FINISHED 

proud  to  be  of  the  same  blood  with  them.  One  fine 
young  fellow  escaped  up  the  peak  and  reached  a 
plateau  about  fifty  feet  beneath  me.  He  was  followed 
by  a  number  of  Zulus,  but  took  refuge  in  a  little  cave 
whence  he  shot  three  or  four  of  them;  then  his 
cartridges  were  exhausted  and  I  heard  the  savages 
speaking  in  praise  of  him — dead.  I  think  he  was  the 
last  to  die  on  the  field  of  Isandhlwana. 

The  looting  of  the  camp  began;  it  was  a  terrible 
scene.  The  oxen  and  those  of  the  horses  that  could 
be  caught  were  driven  away,  except  certain  of  the  for- 
mer which  were  harnessed  to  the  guns  and  some  of  the 
wagons  and,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  taken  to  Ulundi 
in  proof  of  victory.  The  bodies  of  the  slain  were 
stripped  and  Kaffirs  appeared  wearing  the  red  coats 
of  the  soldiers  and  carrying  their  rifles.  The  stores 
were  broken  into  and  all  the  spirits  drunk.  Even  the 
medical  drugs  were  swallowed  by  these  ignorant  men, 
with  the  result  that  I  saw  some  of  them  reeling  about 
in  agony  and  others  fall  down  and  go  to  sleep. 

An  hour  or  two  later  an  officer  who  came  from  the 
direction  in  which  the  General  had  marched,  cantered 
right  into  the  camp  where  the  tents  were  still  standing 
and  even  the  flag  was  flying.  I  longed  to  be  able  to 
warn  him,  but  could  not.  He  rode  up  to  the  head- 
quarters marquee,  whence  suddenly  issued  a  Zulu 
waving  a  great  spear.  I  saw  the  officer  pull  up  his 
horse,  remain  for  a  moment  as  though  indecisive,  then 
turn  and  gallop  madly  away,  quite  unharmed,  though 
one  or  two  assegais  were  thrown  and  many  shots  fired 
at  him.  After  this  considerable  movements  of  the 
Zulus  went  on,  of  which  the  net  result  was,  that  they 
evacuated  the  place. 

Now  I  hoped  that  I  might  escape,  but  it  was  not  to 


ISANDHLWANA  309 

be,  since  on  every  side  numbers  of  them  crept  up 
Isandhlwana  Mountain  and  hid  behind  rocks  or  among 
the  tall  grasses,  evidently  for  purposes  of  observation. 
Moreover  some  captains  arrived  on  the  little  plateau 
where  was  the  cave  in  which  the  soldier  had  been 
killed,  and  camped  there.  At  least  at  sundown  they 
unrolled  their  mats  and  ate,  though  they  lighted  no 
fire. 

The  darkness  fell  and  in  it  escape  for  me  from  that 
guarded  place  was  impossible,  since  I  could  not  see 
where  to  set  my  feet  and  one  false  step  on  the  steep 
rock  would  have  meant  my  death.  From  the  direction 
of  Rorke's  Drift  I  could  hear  continuous  firing;  evi- 
dently some  great  fight  was  going  on  there,  I  wondered 
vaguely — with  what  result.  A  little  later  also  I  heard 
the  distant  tramp  of  horses  and  the  roll  of  gun  wheels. 
The  captains  below  heard  it  too  and  said  one  to  another 
that  it  was  the  English  soldiers  returning,  who  had 
marched  out  of  the  camp  at  dawn.  They  debated  one 
with  another  whether  it  would  be  possible  to  collect  a 
force  to  fall  upon  them,  but  abandoned  the  idea  because 
the  regiments  who  had  fought  that  day  were  now  at  a 
distance  and  too  tired,  and  the  others  had  rushed  for- 
ward without  orders  to  attack  the  white  men  on  and 
beyond  the  river. 

So  they  lay  still  and  listened,  and  I  too  lay  still  and 
listened,  for  on  that  cloudy,  moonless  night  I  could 
see  nothing.  I  heard  smothered  words  of  command. 
I  heard  the  force  halt  because  it  could  not  travel  further 
in  the  gloom.  There  they  lay  down,  the  living  among 
the  dead,  wondering  doubtless  if  they  themselves  would 
not  soon  be  dead,  as  of  course  must  have  happened  had 
the  Zulu  generalship  been  better,  for  if  even  five 
thousand  men  had  been  available  to  attack  at  dawn 


310  FINISHED 

not  one  of  them  could  have  escaped.  But  Providence 
ordained  it  otherwise.  Some  were  taken  and  the  others 
left. 

About  an  hour  before  daylight  I  heard  them  stirring 
again,  and  when  its  first  gleams  came  all  of  them  had 
vanished  over  the  nek  of  slaughter,  with  what  thoughts 
in  their  hearts,  I  wondered,  and  to  what  fate.  The 
captains  on  the  plateau  beneath  had  gone  also,  and  so 
had  the  circle  of  guards  upon  the  slopes  of  the  mount, 
for  I  saw  these  depart  through  the  grey  mist.  As 
the  light  gathered,  however,  I  observed  bodies  of  men 
collecting  on  the  nek,  or  rather  on  both  neks,  which 
made  it  impossible  for  me  to  do  what  I  had  hoped, 
and  run  to  overtake  the  English  troops.  From  these 
I  was  utterly  cut  off.  Nor  could  I  remain  longer  with- 
out food  on  my  point  of  rock,  especially  as  I  was  sure 
that  soon  some  Zulus  would  climb  there  to  use  it  as  an 
outlook  post.  So  while  I  was  still  more  or  less  hidden 
by  the  mist  and  morning  shadows,  I  climbed  down  it 
by  the  same  road  that  I  had  climbed  up,  and  thus 
reached  the  plain.  Not  a  living  man,  white  or  black, 
was  to  be  seen,  only  the  dead,  only  the  dead.  I  was  the 
last  Englishman  to  stand  upon  the  plain  of  Isandhl- 
wana  for  weeks  or  rather  months  to  come. 

Of  all  my  experiences  this  was,  I  think,  the 
strangest,  after  that  night  of  hell,  to  find  myself  alone 
upon  this  field  of  death,  staring  everywhere  at  the 
distorted  faces  which  on  the  previous  morn  I  had  seen 
so  full  of  life.  Yet  my  physical  needs  asserted  them- 
selves. I  was  very  hungry,  who  for  twenty-four  hours 
had  eaten  nothing,  faint  with  hunger  indeed.  I  passed 
a  provision  wagon  that  had  been  looted  by  the  Zulus. 
Tins  of  bully  beef  lay  about,  also,  among  a  wreck  of 
broken  glass,  some  bottles  of  Bass's  beer  which  had 


ISANDHLWANA  311 

escaped  their  notice.  I  found  an  assegai,  cleaned  it 
in  the  ground  which  it  needed,  and  opening  one  of  the 
tins,  lay  down  in  a  tuft  of  grass  by  a  dead  man,  or 
rather  between  him  and  some  Zulus  whom  he  had 
killed,  and  devoured  its  contents.  Also  I  knocked  the 
tops  off  a  couple  of  the  beer  bottles  and  drank  my  fill. 
While  I  was  doing  this  a  large,  rough  dog  with  a 
silver-mounted  collar  on  its  neck,  I  think  of  the  sort 
that  is  called  an  Airedale  terrier,  came  up  to  me  whin- 
ing. At  first  I  thought  it  was  an  hyena,  but  discover- 
ing my  mistake,  threw  it  some  bits  of  meat  which  it 
ate  greedily.  Doubtless  it  had  belonged  to  some  dead 
officer,  though  there  was  no  name  on  the  collar.  The 
poor  beast,  which  I  named  Lost,  at  once  attached  itself 
to  me,  and  here  I  may  say  that  I  kept  it  till  its  death, 
which  occurred  of  jaundice  at  Durban  not  long  before 
I  started  on  my  journey  to  King  Solomon's  Mines. 
No  man  ever  had  a  more  faithful  friend  and  com- 
panion. 

When  I  had  eaten  and  drunk  I  looked  about  me, 
wondering  what  I  should  do.  Fifty  yards  away  I  saw 
a  stout  Basuto  pony  still  saddled  and  bridled,  although 
the  saddle  was  twisted  out  of  its  proper  position, 
which  was  cropping  the  grass  as  well  as  it  could  with 
the  bit  in  its  mouth.  Advancing  gently  I  caught  it 
without  trouble,  and  led  it  back  to  the  plundered 
wagon.  Evidently  from  the  marks  upon  the  saddlery 
it  had  belonged  to  Captain  Shepstone's  force  of 
mounted  natives. 

Here  I  filled  the  large  saddlebags  made  of  buckskin 
with  tins  of  beef,  a  couple  more  bottles  of  beer  and  a 
packet  of  tandstickor  matches  which  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  find.  Also  I  took  the  Martini  rifle  from  a 
dead  soldier,  together  with  a  score  or  so  of  cartridges 


312  FINISHED 

that  remained  in  his  belt,  for  apparently  he  must  have 
been  killed  rather  early  in  the  fight. 

Thus  equipped  I  mounted  the  pony  and  once  more 
bethought  me  of  escaping  to  Natal.  A  look  towards 
the  nek  cured  me  of  that  idea,  for  coming  over  it  I 
saw  the  plumed  heads  of  a  whole  horde  of  warriors. 
Doubtless  these  were  returning  from  the  unsuccessful 
attack  on  Rorke's  Drift,  though  of  that  I  knew  nothing 
at  the  time.  So  whistling  to  the  dog  I  bore  to  the  left 
for  the  Nqutu  Hills,  riding  as  fast  as  the  rough  ground 
would  allow,  and  in  half  an  hour  was  out  of  sight  of 
that  accursed  plain. 

One  more  thing  too  I  did.  On  its  confines  I  came 
across  a  group  of  dead  Zulus  who  appeared  to  have 
been  killed  by  a  shell.  Dismounting  I  took  the  head- 
dress of  one  of  them  and  put  it  on,  for  I  forgot  to  say 
that  I  had  lost  my  hat.  It  was  made  of  a  band  of 
otterskin  from  which  rose  large  tufts  of  the  black 
feathers  of  the  finch  which  the  natives  call  sakabtda. 
Also  I  tied  his  kilt  of  white  oxtails  about  my  middle, 
precautions  to  which  I  have  little  doubt  I  owe  my  life, 
since  from  a  distance  they  made  me  look  like  a  Kaffir 
mounted  on  a  captured  pony. 

Then  I  started  on  again,  whither  I  knew  not. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


ALLAN   AWAKES 


Now  I  have  no  intention  of  setting  down  all  the  details 
of  that  dreadful  journey  through  Zululand,  even  if  I 
could  recall  them,  which,  for  a  reason  to  be  stated,  I 
cannot  do.  I  remember  that  at  first  I  thought  of  pro- 
ceeding to  Ulundi  with  some  wild  idea  of  throwing 
myself  on  the  mercy  of  Cetewayo  under  pretence  that 
I  brought  him  a  message  from  Natal.  Within  a  couple 
of  hours,  however,  from  the  top  of  a  hill  I  saw  ahead 
of  me  an  impi  and  with  it  captured  wagons,  which 
was  evidently  heading  for  the  king's  kraal.  So  as  I 
knew  what  kind  of  a  greeting  these  warriors  would 
give  me,  I  bore  away  in  another  direction  with  the 
hope  of  reaching  the  border  by  a  circuitous  route.  In 
this  too  I  had  no  luck,  since  presently  I  caught  sight  of 
outposts  stationed  upon  rocks,  which  doubtless  be- 
longed to  another  impi  or  regiment.  Indeed  one  sol- 
dier, thinking  from  my  dress  that  I  also  was  a  Zulu, 
called  to  me  for  news  from  about  half  a  mile  away, 
in  that  peculiar  carrying  voice  which  Kaffirs  can. com- 
mand. I  shouted  back  something  about  victory  and 
that  the  white  men  were  wiped  out,  then  put  an  end 
to  the  conversation  by  vanishing  into  a  patch  of  dense 
bush. 

It  is  a  fact  that  after  this  I  have  only  the  dimmest 
recollection  of  what  happened.  I  remember  off-sad- 
dling at  night  on  several  occasions.    I  remember  being 

313 


314  FINISHED 

very  hungry  because  all  the  food  was  eaten  and  the 
dog,  Lost,  catching  a  bush  buck  fawn,  some  of  which 
I  partially  cooked  on  a  fire  of  dead  wood,  and 
devoured.  Next  I  remember — I  suppose  this  was  a 
day  or  two  later — riding  at  night  in  a  thunderstorm 
and  a  particularly  brilliant  flash  of  Hghtning  which 
revealed  scenery  that  seemed  to  be  familiar  to  me, 
after  which  came  a  shock  and  total  unconsciousness. 

At  length  my  mind  returned  to  me.  It  was  reborn 
very  slowly  and  with  horrible  convulsions,  out  of  the 
womb  of  death  and  terror.  I  saw  blood  flowing  round 
me  in  rivers,  I  heard  the  cries  of  triumph  and  of  agony. 
I  saw  myself  standing,  the  sole  survivor,  on  a  grey 
field  of  death,  and  the  utter  loneliness  of  it  ate  into  my 
soul,  so  that  with  all  its  strength  it  prayed  that  it 
might  be  numbered  in  this  harvest.  But  oh !  it  was  so 
strong,  that  soul  which  could  not,  would  not  die  or  fly 
away.  So  strong,  that  I  think  then,  for  the  first  time, 
I  understood  its  immortality  and  that  it  could  never 
die.  This  everlasting  thing  still  clung  for  a  while  to 
the  body  of  its  humiliation,  the  mass  of  clay  and  nerves 
and  appetites  which  it  was  doomed  to  animate,  and 
yet  knew  its  own  separateness  and  eternal  individu- 
ality. Striving  to  be  free  of  earth,  still  it  seemed  to 
walk  the  earth,  a  spirit  and  a  shadow,  aware  of  the 
hatefulness  of  that  to  which  it  was  chained,  as  we 
might  imagine  some  lovely  butterfly  to  be  that  is  fated 
by  nature  to  suck  its  strength  from  carrion,  and 
remains  unable  to  soar  away  into  the  clean  air  of 
heaven. 

Something  touched  my  hand  and  I  reflected  dreamily 
that  if  I  had  been  still  alive,  for  in  a  way  I  believed 
that  I  was  dead,  I  should  have  thought  it  was  a  dog's 


ALLAN  AWAKES  315 

tongue.  With  a  great  effort  I  lifted  my  arm,  opened 
my  eyes  and  looked  at  the  hand  against  the  light,  for 
there  was  light,  to  see  it  was  so  thin  that  this  light 
shone  through  between  the  bones.  Then  I  let  it  fall 
again,  and  lo!  it  rested  on  the  head  of  a  dog  which 
went  on  licking  it. 

A  dog!  What  dog?  Now  I  remembered;  one  that 
I  had  found  on  the  field  of  Isandhlwana.  Then  I 
must  be  still  alive.  The  thought  made  me  cry,  for  I 
could  feel  the  tears  running  down  my  cheeks,  not  with 
joy  but  with  sorrow.  I  did  not  wish  to  go  on  living. 
Life  was  too  full  of  struggle  and  of  bloodshed  and 
bereavement  and  fear  and  all  horrible  things.  I  was 
prepared  to  exchange  my  part  in  it  just  for  rest,  for 
the  blessing  of  deep,  unending  sleep  in  which  no  more 
dreams  could  come,  no  more  cups  of  joy  could  be  held 
to  thirsting  lips,  only  to  be  snatched  away. 

I  heard  something  shuffling  towards  me  at  which  the 
dog  growled,  then  seemed  to  slink  away  as  though  it 
were  afraid.  I  opened  my  eyes  again,  looked,  and 
closed  them  once  more  in  terror,  for  what  I  saw  sug- 
gested that  perhaps  I  was  dead  after  all  and  had 
reached  that  hell  which  a  certain  class  of  earnest 
Christian  promises  to  us  as  the  reward  of  the  failings 
that  Nature  and  those  who  begat  us  have  handed  on 
to  us  as  a  birth  doom.  It  was  something  unnatural, 
grey-headed,  terrific — doubtless  a  devil  come  to  tor- 
ment me  in  the  inquisition  vaults  of  Hades.  Yet  I 
had  known  the  like  when  I  was  alive.  How  had  it 
been  called  ?  I  remembered,  "  The-thing-that-never- 
should-have-been-born."  Hark!  It  was  speaking  in 
that  full  deep  voice  which  was  unlike  to  any  other. 

"  Greeting,  Macumazahn,"  it  said.  "  I  see  that  you 
have  come  back  from  among  the  dead  with  whom  you 


3i6  FINISHED 

have  been  dwelling  for  a  moon  and  more.  It  is  not 
wise  of  you,  Macumazahn,  yet  I  am  glad  who 
have  matched  my  skill  against  Death  and  won, 
for  now  you  will  have  much  to  tell  me  about  his 
kingdom." 

So  it  was  Zikali — Zikali  who  had  butchered  my 
friends. 

"Away  from  me,  murderer!"  I  said  faintly,  "and 
let  me  die,  or  kill  me  as  you  did  the  others." 

He  laughed,  but  very  softly,  not  in  his  usual  terrific 
fashion,  repeating  the  word  "  murder  "  two  or  three 
times.  Then  with  his  great  hand  he  lifted  my  head 
gently  as  a  woman  might,  saying — 

"  Look  before  you,  Macumazahn." 

I  looked  and  saw  that  I  was  in, some  kind  of  a  cave. 
Outside  the  sun  was  setting,  and  against  its  brightness 
I  perceived  two  figures,  a  white  man  and  a  white 
woman  who  were  walking  hand  in  hand  and  gazing 
into  each  other's  eyes.  They  were  Anscombe  and 
Heda  passing  the  mouth  of  the  cave. 

"  Behold  the  murdered,  O  Macumazahn,  dealer  of 
hard  words." 

"  It  is  only  a  trick,"  I  murmured.  "  Kaatje  saw 
them  dead  and  buried." 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  forgot.  The  fat  fool-woman  saw  them 
dead  and  buried.  Well,  sometimes  the  dead  come  to 
life  again  and  for  good  purpose,  as  you  should  know, 
Macumazahn,  who  followed  the  counsel  of  a  certain 
Mameena  and  wandered  here  instead  of  rushing  on  to 
the  Zulu  spears." 

I  tried  to  think  the  thing  out  and  could  not,  so  only 
asked — 

"  How  did  I  come?    What  happened  to  me?" 

"  I  think  the  sun  smote  you  first  who  had  no  cov- 


ALLAN  AWAKES  317 

ering  on  your  head  and  the  hghtning  smote  you  after- 
wards. Yet  all  the  while  that  reason  had  left  you, 
One  led  your  horse,  and  after  the  Heavens  had  tried 
to  kill  you  and  failed,  perhaps  because  my  magic  was 
too  strong  for  them,  One  sent  that  beast  which  you 
found,  yes,  sent  it  here  to  lead  us  to  where  you  lay. 
There  you  were  discovered  and  brought  hither.  Now 
sleep  lest  you  should  go  further  than  even  I  can  fetch 
you  back  again.*' 

He  held  his  hands  above  my  head,  seeming  to  grow 
in  stature  till  his  white  hair  touched  the  roof  of  the 
cave,  and  in  an  instant  I  fancied  that  I  was  falling 
away,  deep,  deep  into  a  gulf  of  nothingness. 

There  followed  another  period  of  dreaming,  in 
which  dreams  I  seemed  to  meet  all  sorts  of  people,  dead 
and  living,  especially  Lady  Ragnall,  a  friend  of  mine 
with  whom  I  had  been  concerned  in  a  very  strange 
adventure  among  the  Kendah  people,^  and  with  whom 
in  days  to  come  I  was  destined  to  be  concerned  again, 
although  of  course  I  knew  nothing  of  this,  in  a  still 
stranger  adventure  of  what  I  may  call  a  spiritual  order, 
which  I  may  or  may  not  try  to  reduce  to  writing. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  I  was  constantly  dining  with  her 
tete-a-tete  and  that  she  told  me  all  sorts  of  queer  things 
between  the  courses.  Doubtless  these  illusions  occurred 
when  I  was  fed. 

At  length  I  woke  up  again,  feeling  much  stronger, 
and  saw  the  dog,  Lost,  watching  me  with  its  great 
tender  eyes — oh !  they  talk  of  the  eyes  of  women,  but 
are  they  ever  as  beautiful  as  those  of  a  loving  dog? 
It  lay  by  my  low  bedstead,  a  rough  affair  fashioned 
of  poles  and, strung  with  rimpis  or  strings  of  rawhide, 
and  by  it,  stroking  its  head,  sat  the  witch-doctoress, 
*  See  the  book  called  The  Ivory  Child.— Editor. 


3i8  FINISHED 

Nombe.  I  remember  how  pleasing  she  looked,  a  per- 
fect type  of  the  eternal  feminine  with  her  graceful, 
rounded  shape  and  her  continual,  mysterious  smile 
which  suggested  so  much  more  than  any  mortal  woman 
has  to  give. 

"  Good-day  to  you,  Macumazahn,"  she  said  in  her 
gentle  voice,  "  you  have  gone  through  much  since  last 
we  met  on  the  night  before  Goza  took  you  away  to 
Ulundi." 

Now  remembering  all,  I  was  filled  with  indignation 
against  this  little  humbug. 

"  The  last  time  we  met,  Nombe,"  I  said,  "  was  when 
you  played  the  part  of  a  woman  who  is  dead  in  the 
Valley  of  Bones  by  the  king's  kraal." 

She  regarded  me  with  a  kindly  commiseration,  and 
answered,  shaking  her  head — 

''  You  have  been  very  ill,  Macumazahn,  and  your 
spirit  still  tricks  you.  I  played  the  part  of  no  woman 
in  any  valley  by  the  king's  kraal,  nor  were  my  eyes 
rejoiced  with  the  sight  of  you  there  or  elsewhere  till 
they  brought  you  to  this  place,  so  changed  that  I 
should  scarcely  have  known  you." 

"  You  httle  liar!"  I  said  rudely. 

*'  Do  the  white  people  always  name  those  liars  who 
tell  them  true  things  they  cannot  understand?"  she 
inquired  with  a  sweet  innocence.  Then  without  wait- 
ing for  an  answer,  she  patted  my  hand  as  though  I 
were  a  fretful  child  and  gave  me  some  soup  in  a  gourd, 
saying,  "  Drink  it,  it  is  good.  The  Lady  Heddana 
made  it  herself  in  the  white  man's  fashion." 

I  drank  the  soup,  which  was  very  good,  and  as  I 
handed  back  the  gourd,  answered — 

"  Kaatje  has  told  me  that  the  Lady  Heddana  is 
dead.    Can  the  dead  make  soup?" 


ALLAN  AWAKES  319 

She  considered  the  point  while  she  threw  some  bits 
of  meat  out  of  the  bottom  of  the  gourd  to  the  dog, 
Lost,  then  repHed — 

*'  I  do  not  know,  Macumazahn,  or  indeed  whether 
the  dead  eat  as  we  do.  Next  time  my  Spirit  visits  me 
I  will  make  inquiry  and  tell  you  the  answer.  But  I 
do  know  that  it  is  very  strange  that  you,  who  always 
turn  your  back  upon  the  truth,  are  so  ready  to  accept 
falsehoods.  Why  should  you  believe  that  the  lady 
Heddana  is  dead  just  because  Kaatje  told  you  so,  when 
I  who  am  still  alive  had  sworn  to  you  that  I  would 
protect  her  with  my  life?  Nay,  speak  no  more  now. 
To-morrow  if  you  are  well  enough  you  shall  see  and 
judge  for  yourself." 

She  drew  up  the  kaross  over  me, -again  patted  my 
hand  in  her  motherly  fashion  and  departed  still  smil- 
ing, after  which  I  went  to  sleep  again,  so  dreamlessly 
that  I  think  there  was  some  native  soporific  in  that 
soup. 

On  the  following  day  two  of  Zikali's  servants  who 
did  the  rougher  work  of  my  sick-room,  if  I  may  so 
call  it,  arrived  and  said  that  they  were  going  to  carry 
me  out  of  the  cave  for  a  while,  if  that  were  my  will. 
I  who  longed  to  breathe  the  fresh  air  again,  said  that 
it  was  very  much  my  will,  whereon  they  grasped  the 
rough  bedstead  which  I  have  described,  by  either  end 
and  very  carefully  bore  me  down  the  cave  and  through 
its  narrow  entrance,  where  they  set  the  bedstead  in  the 
shadow  of  the  overhanging  rock  without.  When  I  had 
recovered  a  little,  for  even  that  short  journey  tired 
me,  I  looked  about  me  and  perceived  that  as  I  had 
expected,  I  was  in  the  Black  Kloof,  for  there  in  front 
of  me  were  the  very  huts  which  we  had  occupied  on 
our  arrival  from  Swazi-Land. 


320  FINISHED 

I  lay  a  while  drawing  in  the  sweet  air  which  to  me 
was  like  a  draught  of  nectar,  and  wondering  whether 
I  were  not  still  in  a  dream.  For  instance,  I  wondered 
if  I  had  truly  seen  the  figures  of  Anscombe  and  Heda 
pass  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  on  that  day  when  I  awoke, 
or  if  these  were  but  another  of  Zikali's  illusions  im- 
printed on  my  weakened  mind  by  his  will  power.  For 
of  what  he  and  Nombe  had  told  me  I  believed  nothing. 
Thus  marvelling  I  fell  into  a  doze  and  in  my  doze 
heard  whisperings.  I  opened  my  eyes,  and  lo!  there 
before  me  stood  Anscombe  and  Heda.  It  was  she  who 
spoke  the  first,  for  I  was  tongue-tied;  I  could  not  open 
my  lips. 

*'  Dear  Mr.  Quatermain,  dear  Mr.  Quatermain !" 
she  murmured  in  her  sweet  voice,  then  paused. 

Now  at  last  words  came  to  me.  "  I  thought  you 
were  both  dead,"  I  said.  **  Tell  me,  are  you  really 
alive?" 

She  bent  down  and  kissed  my  brow,  while  Ans- 
combe took  my  hand. 

"  Now  you  know,"  she  answered.  "  We  are  both 
of  us  alive  and  well." 

"  Thank  God !"  I  exclaimed.  "  Kaatje  swore  that 
she  saw  you  dead  and  buried." 

"  One  sees  strange  things  in  the  Black  Kloof," 
replied  Anscombe,  speaking  for  the  first  time,  *'  and 
much  has  happened  to  us  since  we  were  parted,  to 
which  you  are  not  strong  enough  to  listen  now.  When 
you  are  better,  then  we  will  tell  you  all.  So  grow  well 
as  soon  as  you  can." 

After  this  I  think  I  fainted,  for  when  I  came  to 
myself  again  I  was  back  in  the  cave. 

Another  ten  days  or  so  went  by  before  I  could  even 
leave  my  bed,  for  my  recovery  was  very  slow.   Indeed 


ALLAN  AWAKES  321 

for  weeks  I  could  scarcely  walk  at  all,  and  six  whole 
months  passed  before  I  really  got  my  strength  again 
and  became  as  I  used  to  be.  During  those  days  I  often 
saw  Anscombe  and  Heda,  but  only  for  a  few  minutes 
at  a  time.  Also  occasionally  Zikali  would  visit  me, 
speaking  a  little,  generally  about  past  history,  or  some- 
thing of  the  sort,  but  never  of  the  war,  and  go  away. 
At  length  one  day  he  said  to  me — 

"  Macumazahn,  now  I  am  sure  you  are  going  to 
live,  a  matter  as  to  which  I  was  doubtful,  even  after 
you  seemed  to  recover.  For,  Macumazahn,  you  have 
endured  three  shocks,  of  which  to-day  I  am  not  afraid 
to  talk  to  you.  First  there  was  that  of  the  battle  of 
Isandhlwana  where  you  were  the  last  white  man  left 
alive." 

*'  How  do  you  know  that,  Zikali?"  I  asked. 

"  It  does  not  matter.  I  do  know.  Did  you  not 
ride  through  the  Zulus  who  parted  this  way  and  that 
before  you,  shouting  what  you  could  not  understand? 
One  of  them  you  may  remember  even  saluted  with  his 
spear." 

''  I  did,  Zikali.  Tell  me,  why  did  they  behave  thus, 
and  what  did  they  shout?" 

"  I  shall  not  tell  you,  Macumazahn.  Think  over  it 
for  the  rest  of  your  life  and  conclude  what  you  choose; 
it  will  not  be  so  wonderful  as  the  truth.  At  least  they 
did  so,  as  a  certain  doll  I  dressed  up  yonder  in  the 
Valley  of  Bones  told  you  they  would,  she  whose  advice 
you  followed  in  riding  towards  Ulundi  instead  of  back 
to  the  river  where  you  would  have  met  your  death,  like 
so  many  others  of  the  white  people." 

"  Who  was  that  doll,  ZikaH?" 

"  Nay,  ask  me  not.  Perhaps  it  was  Nornbe,  per- 
haps another.    I  have  forgotten,    I  am.  x^ry  old  and( 


322  FINISHED 

my  memory  begins  to  play  me  strange  tricks.  Still  I 
recollect  that  she  was  a  good  doll,  so  like  a  dead  woman 
called  Mameena  that  I  could  scarcely  have  known 
them  apart.  Ah !  that  was  a  great  game  I  played  in  the 
Valley  of  Bones,  was  it  not,  Macumazahn?  " 

"  Yes,  Zikali,  yet  I  do  not  understand  why  it  was 
played.'* 

"  Being  so  young  you  still  have  the  impatience  of 
youth,  Macumazahn,  although  your  hair  grows  white. 
Wait  a  while  and  you  wall  understand  all.  Well,  you 
lay  that  night  on  the  topmost  rock  of  Isandhlwana, 
and  there  you  saw  and  heard  strange  things.  You 
heard  the  rest  of  the  white  soldiers  come  and  lie  down 
to  rest  among  their  dead  brothers,  and  depart  again 
unharmed.  Oh!  what  fools  are  these  Zulu  generals 
nowadays.  They  send  out  an  impi  to  attack  men 
behind  walls,  spears  against  rifles,  and  are  defeated. 
Had  they  kept  that  impi  to  fall  on  the  rest  of  the 
English  when  they  walked  into  the  trap,  not  a  man 
of  your  people  would  have  been  left  alive.  Would 
that  have  happened  in  the  time  of  Chaka?" 

''I  think  not,  Zikali.  Still  I  am  glad  that  it  did 
happen." 

"  I  think  not  too,  Macumazahn,  but  small  men, 
small  wit.  Also  like  you  I  am  glad  that  it  did  not 
happen,  since  it  is  the  Zulus  I  hate,  not  the  English 
who  have  now  learned  a  lesson  and  will  not  be  caught 
again.  Oh !  many  a  captain  in  Zululand  is  to-day  flat 
as  a  pricked  bladder,  and  even  their  victory,  as  they 
call  it,  cost  them  dear.  For,  mind  you,  Macumazahn, 
for  every  white  man  they  killed  two  of  them  died. 
So,  so  !  In  the  morning  you  left  the  hill — do  not. look 
astonished,  ^Macumazahn.  Perhaps  those  captains  on 
the  rock  beneath  you  let  you  go  for  their  own  purposes. 


ALLAN  AWAKES  323 

or  because  they  were  commanded,  for  though  weak  I 
can  still  lift  a  stone  or  two,  Macumazahn,  and  after- 
wards told  me  all  about  it.  Then  you  found  yourself 
alone  among  the  dead,  like  the  last  man  in  the  world, 
Macumazahn,  and  that  dog  at  your  side,  also  a  horse 
came  to  you.  Perhaps  I  sent  them,  perhaps  it  was  a 
chance.  Who  knows?  Not  I  myself,  for  as  I  have 
said,  my  memory  has  grown  so  bad.  That  was  your 
first  shock,  Macumazahn,  the  shock  of  standing  alone 
among  the  dead  like  the  last  man  in  the  world.  You 
felt  it,  did  you  not?" 

"  As  I  hope  I  shall  never  feel  anything  again.  It 
nearly  drove  me  mad,"  I  answered. 

"  Very  nearly  indeed,  though  I  have  felt  worse 
things  and  only  laughed,  as  I  would  tell  you,  had  I  the 
time.  Well,  then  the  sun  struck  you,  for  at  this  season 
of  the  year  it  is  very  hot  in  those  valleys  for  a  white 
man  with  no  covering  to  his  head,  and  you  went  quite 
mad,  though  fortunately  the  dog  and  the  horse 
remained  as  Heaven  had  made  them.  That  was  the 
second  shock.  Then  the  storm  burst  and  the  lightning 
fell.  It  ran  down  the  rifle  that  you  still  carried, 
Macumazahn.  I  will  show  it  to  you  and  you  will  see 
that  its  stock  is  shattered.  Perhaps  I  turned  the  flash 
aside,  for  I  am  a  great  thunder-herd,  or  perhaps  it 
was  One  mightier  than  I.  That  was  the  third  shock, 
Macumazahn.  Then  you  were  found,  still  living — 
how,  the  white  man,  your  friend,  will  tell  you.  But 
you  should  cherish  that  dog  of  yours,  Macumazahn, 
for  many  a  man  might  have  served  you  worse.  And 
being  strong,  though  small,  or  perhaps  because  you 
still  have  work  left  to  do  in  the  world  before  you  leave 
it  for  a  while,  you  have  lied  through  all  these  things 
and  will  in  time  recover,  though  not  yet." 


324  FINISHED 

*'  I  hope  so,  Zikali,  though  on  the  whole  I  am  not 
sure  that  I  wish  to  recover." 

"  Yes,  you  do,  Macumazahn,  because  the  rehgion  of 
you  white  men  makes  you  fear  death  and  what  may 
come  after  it.  You  think  of  what  you  call  your  sins 
and  are  afraid  lest  you  should  be  tortured  because  of 
them,  not  understanding  that  the  spirit  must  be  judged 
not  by  what  the  flesh  has  done  but  by  what  the  spirit 
desired  to  do,  by  will  not  by  deed,  Macumazahn.  The 
evil  man  is  he  who  wishes  to  do  evil,  not  he  who  wishes 
to  do  good  and  falls  now  and  again  into  evil.  Oh!  I 
have  hearkened  to  your  white  teachers  and  I  know,  I 
know." 

"  Then  by  your  own  standard  you  are  evil,  Zikali, 
since  you  wished  to  bring  about  war,  and  not  in  vain." 

**  Oho !  Macumazahn,  you  think  that,  do  you,  who 
cannot  understand  that  what  seems  to  be  evil  is  often 
good.  I  wished  to  bring  about  war  and  brought  it 
about,  and  may  be  what  bred  the  wish  was  all  that 
I  have  suffered  in  the  past.  But  say  you,  who  have 
seen  what  the  Zulu  Power  means,  who  have  seen  men, 
women  and  children  killed  by  the  thousand  to  feed 
that  Power,  and  who  have  seen,  too,  what  the  English 
Power  means,  is  it  evil  that  I  should  wish  to  destroy 
the  House  of  the  Zulu  kings  that  the  English  House 
may  take  its  place  and  that  in  a  time  to  come  the  Black 
people  may  be  free?" 

**  You  are  clever,  Zikali,  but  it  is  of  your  own  wrongs 
that  you  think.  How  about  that  skull  which  you  kissed 
in  the  Valley  of  Bones?  " 

"  Mayhap,  Macumazahn,  but  my  wrongs  are  the 
wrongs  of  a  nation,  therefore  I  think  of  the  nation, 
and  at  least  I  do  not  fear  death  like  you  white  men. 
Now  hearken.    Presently  your  friends  will  tell  you  a 


ALLAN  AWAKES  325 

story.  The  lady  Heddana  will  tell  you  how  I  made  use 
of  her  for  a  certain  purpose,  for  which  purpose  indeed 
I  drew  the  three  of  you  into  Zululand,  because  without 
her  I  could  not  have  brought  about  this  war  into  which 
Cetewayo  did  not  wish  to  enter.  When  you  have  heard 
that  story,  do  not  judge  me  too  hardly,  Macumazahn, 
who  had  a  great  end  to  gain." 

"  Yet  whatever  the  story  may  be,  I  do  judge  you 
hardly,  Zikali,  who  tormented  me  with  a  false  tale, 
causing  the  woman  Kaatje  to  lie  to  me  and  swear  that 
she  saw  these  two  dead  before  her — how  I  know  not." 

**  She  did  not  lie  to  you,  Macumazahn.  Has  not 
such  a  one  as  I  the  power  to  make  a  fat  fool  think  that 
she  saw  what  she  did  not  see  ?  As  to  how !  How  did 
I  make  you  think  in  yonder  hut  of  mine  that  you  saw 
what  you  did  not  see — perhaps." 

"  But  why  did  you  mock  me  in  this  fashion,  Zikali  ?" 

"  Truly,  Macumazahn,  you  are  blind  as  a  bat  in  sun- 
light. When  your  friends  have  told  you  the  story,  you 
will  understand  why.  Yet  I  admit  to  you  that  things 
went  wrong.  You  should  have  heard  that  tale  before 
Cetewayo  brought  you  to  the  Valley  of  Bones.  But 
the  fool-woman  delayed  and  blundered,  and  when  she 
reached  Ulundi  the  gates  were  shut  against  her  as  a 
spy,  and  not  opened  till  too  late,  so  that  you  only  found 
her  when  you  returned  from  the  Council.  I  knew  this, 
and  that  was  why  I  dared  to  bid  you  fire  at  that  which 
stood  upon  the  rock.  Had  you  heard  Kaatje's  tale 
you  might  have  aimed  straight,  as  also  you  would 
have  certainly  shot  straight  at  me,  out  of  revenge  for 
the  deaths  of  those  you  loved,  Macumazahn,  though 
whether  you  could  have  killed  me  before  all  the  game 
is  played  is  another  matter.  As  it  was,  I  was  sure 
that  you  would  not  pierce  the  heart  of  one  who  might 


326  FINISHED 

be  a  certain  white  woman,  sure  also  that  you  would 
not  pierce  my  heart  whose  death  might  bring  about 
her  death  and  that  of  another.'' 

"  You  are  very  subtle,  Zikali,"  I  said  in  astonish- 
ment. 

"  So  you  hold  because  I  am  very  simple,  who  under- 
stand the  spirit  of  man — and  some  other  things.  For 
the  rest,  had  you  not  believed  that  these  two  were  dead, 
you  would  never  have  left  Zululand.  You  would  have 
tried  to  escape  to  get  to  them  and  have  been  killed. 
Is  it  not  so  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  think  I  should  have  tried,  Zikali.  But  why 
did  you  keep  them  prisoner?" 

"  For  the  same  reason  that  I  still  keep  them — and 
you — to  hold  them  back  a  while  from  the  world  of 
ghosts.  Had  I  sent  them  away  after  that  night  of  the 
declaration  of  war,  they  would  have  been  killed  betore 
they  had  gone  an  hours  journey.  Oh!  I  am  not  so 
bad  as  you  think,  Macumazahn,  and  I  never  break  my 
word.     Now  I  have  done." 

"  How  goes  the  war  ?"  I  asked  as  he  shuffled  to  his 
feet. 

*'  As  it  must  go,  very  ill  for  the  Zulus.  They  have 
driven  back  the  white  men  who  gather  strength  from 
over  the  Black  Water  and  will  come  on  presently  and 
wipe  them  out.  Umnyamana  would  have  had  Cete- 
wayo  invade  Natal  and  sweep  it  clean,  as  of  course  he 
should  have  done.  But  I  sent  him  word  that  if  he  did 
so  Nomkubulwana,  yes,  she  and  no  other,  had  told  me 
that  all  the  spirits  would  be  against  him,  and  he  heark- 
ened. When  next  you  think  me  wicked,  remember 
that,  Macumazahn.  Now  it  is  but  a  matter  of  time, 
and  here  you  must  bide  till  all  is  finished.  That  will 
be  good  for  you  who  need  rest,  though  the  other  tv/o 


ALLAN  AWAKES  327 

find  it  wearisome.  Still  for  them  it  is  good  also  to 
watch  the  fruit  ripen  on  their  tree  of  love.  It  will  be 
the  sweeter  when  they  eat  it,  Macumazahn,  and  teach 
them  how  to  live  together.  Oho!  Oho-hoT  and  he 
shambled  off. 


CHAPTER  X'X 

HEDA^S  TALE 

That  evening  when  I  was  lying  on  my  bed  outside  the 
cave,  I  heard  the  tale  of  Anscombe  and  Heda.  Up 
to  a  certain  point  he  told  it,  then  she  went  on  with  the 
story. 

''  On  the  morning  after  our  arrival  at  this  place, 
Allan,"  said  Anscombe,  "  I  woke  up  to  find  you  gone 
from  the  hut.  As  you  did  not  come  back  I  concluded 
that  you  were  with  Zikali,  and  walked  about  looking 
for  you.  Then  food  was  brought  to  us  and  Heda  and 
I  breakfasted  together,  after  which  we  went  to  where 
we  heard  the  horses  neighing  and  found  that  yours 
was  gone.  Returning,  much  frightened,  we  met 
Nombe,  who  gave  me  your  note  which  explained  every- 
thing, and  we  inquired  of  her  why  this  had  been  done 
and  what  was  to  become  of  us.  She  smiled  and 
answered  that  we  had  better  ask  the  first  question  of 
the  king  and  the  second  of  her  master  Zikali,  and  in 
the  mea.nwhile  be  at  peace  since  we  were  quite  safe. 

"I  tried  to  see  Zikali  but  could  not.  Then  I  went 
to  inspan  the  horses  with  the  idea  of  following  you, 
only  to  find  that  they  were  gone.  Indeed  I  have  not 
seen  them  from  that  day  to  this.  Next  we  thought  of 
starting  on  foot,  for  we  were  quite  desperate.  But 
Nombe  intervened  and  told  us  that  if  we  ventured  out 
of  the  Black  Kloof  we  should  be  killed.  In  short  we 
were  prisoners. 

328 


HEDA'S  TALE  329 

"  This  went  on  for  some  days,  during  which  we 
were  well  treated  but  could  not  succeed  in  seeing 
Zikali.  At  length  one  morning  he  sent  for  us  and  we 
were  taken  to  the  enclosure  in  front  of  his  hut,  Kaatje 
coming  with  us  as  interpreter.  For  a  while  he  sat 
still,  looking  very  grim  and  terrible.     Then  he  said — 

"  *  White  Chief  and  Lady,  you  think  ill  of  me  because 
Macumazahn  has  gone  and  you  are  kept  prisoners 
here,  and  before  all  is  done  you  will  think  worse.  Yet 
I  counsel  you  to  trust  me  since  everything  that  happens 
is  for  your  good.' 

"  At  this  point  Heda,  who,  as  you  know,  talked  Zulu 
fairly  well,  though  not  so  well  as  she  does  now,  broke 
in,  and  said  some  very  angry  things  to  him.*' 

*'  Yes,"  interrupted  Heda.  "  I  told  him  that  he  was 
a  liar  and  I  believed  that  he  had  murdered  you  and 
meant  to  murder  us." 

"  He  listened  stonily,"  continued  Anscombe,  "  and 
answered,  '  I  perceive,  Lady  Heddana,  that  you  under- 
stand enough  of  our  tongue  to  enable  me  to  talk  to 
you;  therefore  I  will  send  away  this  half-breed  woman, 
since  what  I  have  to  say  is  secret.' 

"  Then  he  called  servants  by  clapping  his  hands  and 
ordered  them  to  remove  Kaatje,  which  was  done. 

" '  Now,  Lady  Heddana,'  he  said,  speaking  very 
slowly  so  that  Heda  might  interpret  to  me  and  repeat- 
ing his  words  whenever  she  did  not  understand,  '  I 
have  a  proposal  to  make  to  you.  For  my  own  ends  it 
is  necessary  that  you  should  play  a  part  and  appear 
before  the  king  and  the  Council  as  the  goddess  of  this 
land  who  is  called  the  Chieftainess  of  Heaven,  which 
goddess  is  always  seen  as  a  white  woman.  Therefore 
you  must  travel  with  me  to  Ulundi  and  there  do  those 
things  which  I  shall  tell  you.' 


330  FINISHED 

'' '  And  if  I  refuse  to  play  this  trick,'  said  Heda, 
'  what  then  ?' 

"  '  Then,  Lady  Heddana,  this  white  lord  whom  you 
love  and  who  is  to  be  your  husband  will — die — and 
after  he  is  dead  you  must  still  do  what  I  desire  of  you, 
or — die  also.' 

"  *  Would  he  come  with  me  to  Ulundi  ?'  asked  Heda. 

"  *  Not  so,  Lady.  He  would  stay  here  under  guard, 
but  quite  safe,  and  you  will  be  brought  back  to  him, 
safe.  Choose  now,  with  death  on  the  one  hand  and 
safety  on  the  other.  I  would  sleep  a  little.  Talk  the 
matter  over  in  your  own  tongue  and  when  it  is  settled 
awaken  me  again,'  and  he  shut  his  eyes  and  appeared 
to  go  to  sleep. 

"  So  we  discussed  the  situation,  if  you  can  call  it 
discussion  when  we  were  both  nearly  mad.  Heda 
wished  to  go.  I  begged  her  to  let  me  be  killed  rather 
than  trust  herself  into  the  hands  of  this  old  villain. 
She  pointed  out  that  even  if  I  were  killed,  which  she 
admitted  might  not  happen,  she  would  still  be  in  his 
hands  whence  she  could  only  escape  by  her  own  death, 
whereas  if  she  went  there  was  a  chance  that  we  might 
both  continue  to  live,  and  that  after  all  death  was  easy 
to  find.  So  in  the  end  I  gave  way  and  we  woke  up 
Zikali  and  told  him  so. 

*'  He  seemed  pleased  and  spoke  to  us  gently,  saying, 
*  I  was  sure  that  wisdom  dwelt  behind  those  bright 
eyes  of  yours.  Lady,  and  again  I  promise  you  that 
neither  you  nor  the  lord  your  lover  shall  come  to  any 
harm.  Also  that  in  payment  I  and  my  child,  Nombe, 
will  protect  you  even  with  our  lives,  and  further,  that 
I  will  bring  back  your  friend,  Macumazahn,  to  you, 
though  not  yet.  Now  go  and  be  happy  together. 
Nombe  will  tell  the  lady  Heddana  when  she  is  to  start. 


HEDA'S  TALE  331 

Of  all  this  say  nothing  on  your  peril  to  the  woman 
Kaatje,  since  if  you  do,  it  will  be  necessary  that  she 
should  be  made  silent.  Indeed,  lest  she  should  learn 
something,  to-morrow  I  shall  send  her  on  to  await 
you  at  Ulundi,  therefore  be  not  surprised  if  you  see 
her  go,  and  take  no  heed  of  aught  she  may  say  in 
going.  Nombe,  my  child,  will  fill  her  place  as  servant 
to  the  lady  Heddana,  and  sleep  with  her  at  night  that 
she  may  not  be  lonely  or  afraid.' 

"  Then  he  clapped  his  hands  again  and  servants 
came  and  conducted  us  back  to  the  huts.  And  now, 
Allan,  Heda  will  go  on  with  the  story." 

"  Well,  Mr.  Quatermain,"  she  said,  ''  nothing  more 
happened  that  day  which  we  spent  with  bursting 
hearts.  Kaatje  did  not  question  us  as  to  what  the 
witch-doctor  had  said  after  she  was  sent  away.  Indeed 
I  noticed  that  she  was  growing  very  stupid  and  drowsy, 
like  a  person  who  has  been  drugged,  as  I  daresay  she 
was,  and  would  insist  upon  beginning  to  pack  up  the 
things  in  a  foolish  kind  of  way,  muttering  something 
about  our  trekking  on  the  following  day.  The  night 
passed  as  usual,  Kaatje  sleeping  very  heavily  by  my 
side  and  snoring  so  much"  (here  I  groaned  sym- 
pathetically) ''  that  I  could  get  little  rest.  On  the  next 
morning  after  breakfast  as  the  huts  were  very  hot, 
Nombe  suggested  that  we  should  sit  under  the  shadow 
of  the  overhanging  rock,  just  where  we  are  now. 
Accordingly  we  went,  and  being  tired  out  with  all  our 
troubles  and  bad  nights,  I  fell  into  a  doze,  and  so,  I 
think,  did  Maurice,  Nombe  sitting  near  to  us  and  sing- 
ing all  the  while,  a  very  queer  kind  of  song. 

"  Presently,  through  my  doze  as  it  were,  I  saw 
Kaatje  approaching.  Nombe  went  to  meet  her,  still 
singing,  and  taking  her  hand,  led  her  to  the  cart,  where 


332  FINISHED 

they  seemed  to  talk  to  the  horses,  which  surprised  me 
as  there  were  no  horses.  Then  she  brought  her  round 
the  cart  and  pointed  to  us,  still  singing.  Now  Kaatje 
began  to  weep  and  throw  her  hands  about,  while 
Nombe  patted  her  on  the  shoulder.  I  tried  to  speak 
to  her  but  could  not.  My  tongue  was  tied,  why  I  don't 
know,  but  I  suppose  because  I  was  really  asleep,  and 
Maurice  also  was  asleep  and  did  not  wake  at  all." 

"  Yes,"  said  Anscombe,  ''  I  remember  nothing  of  all 
this  business." 

"  After  a  while  Kaatje  went  away,  still  weeping, 
and  then  I  fell  asleep  in  earnest  and  did  not  wake  until 
the  sun  was  going  down,  when  I  roused  Maurice  and 
we  both  went  back  to  the  hut,  where  I  found  that 
Nombe  had  cooked  our  evening  meal.  I  looked  for 
Kaatje,  but  could  not  find  her.  Also  in  searching 
through  my  things  I  missed  the  bag  of  jewels.  I  called 
to  Nombe  and  asked  where  Kaatje  was,  whereon  she 
smiled  and  said  that  she  had  gone  away,  taking  the 
bag  with  her.  This  pained  me,  for  I  had  always  found 
Kaatje  quite  honest " 

''  Which  she  is,"  I  remarked,  "  for  those  jewels  are 
now  in  a  bank  at  Maritzburg." 

Heda  nodded  and  went  on,  "  I  am  glad  to  hear  it; 
indeed,  remembering  what  Zikali  had  said,  I  never 
really  suspected  her  of  being  a  thief,  but  thought  it 
was  all  part  of  some  plan.  After  this  things  went  on 
as  before,  except  that  Nombe  took  Kaatje's  place  and 
was  with  me  day  and  night.  Of  Kaatje's  disappear- 
ance she  would  say  nothing.    Zikali  we  did  not  see. 

''  On  the  third  evening  after  the  vanishing  of  Kaatje, 
Nombe  came  and  said  that  I  must  make  ready  for  a 
journey,  and  while  she  spoke  men  arrived  with  a  litter 
that  had  grass  mats  hung  round  it.     Nombe  brought 


HEDA'S  TALE  333 

out  my  long  cape  and  put  It  over  me,  also  a  kind  of 
veil  of  white  stuff  which  she  threw  over  my  head,  so 
as  to  hide  my  face.  I  think  it  was  made  out  of  one 
of  our  travelling  mosquito  nets.  Then  she  said  I  must 
say  good-bye  to  Maurice  for  a  while.  There  was  a 
scene  as  you  may  imagine.  He  grew  angry  and  said 
that  he  would  come  with  me,  whereon  armed  men 
appeared,  six  of  them,  and  pushed  him  away  with  the 
handles  of  their  spears.  In  another  minute  I  was 
lifted  into  the  litter  which  Nombe  entered  with  me, 
and  so  we  were  parted,  wondering  if  we  should  ever 
see  each  other  more.  At  the  mouth  of  the  kloof  I  saw 
another  litter  surrounded  by  a  number  of  Zulus,  which 
Nombe  said  contained  Zikali. 

"  We  travelled  all  that  night  and  two  succeeding 
nights,  resting  during  the  day  in  deserted  kraals  that 
appeared  to  have  been  made  ready  for  us.  It  was  a 
strange  journey,  for  although  the  armed  men  flitted 
about  us,  neither  they  nor  the  bearers  ever  spoke,  nor 
did  I  see  Zikali,  or  indeed  any  one  else.  Only  Nombe 
comforted  me  from  time  to  time,  telling  me  there  was 
nothing  to  fear.  Towards  dawn  on  the  third  night 
we  travelled  over  some  hills  and  I  was  put  into  a  new 
hut  and  told  that  my  journey  was  done  as  we  had 
reached  a  place  near  Ulundi. 

''  I  slept  most  of  the  following  day,  but  after  I  had 
eaten  towards  evening,  Zikali  crept  into  the  hut,  just 
as  a  great  toad  might  do,  and  squatted  down  in  front 
of  me. 

*' '  Lady,'  he  said,  *  listen.  To-night,  perhaps  one 
hour  after  sundown,  perhaps  two,  perhaps  three, 
Nombe  will  lead  you,  dressed  in  a  certain  fashion, 
from  this  hut.  See  now,  outside  of  it  there  is  a  tongue 
of  rock  up  which  you  may  climb  unnoted  by  the  little 


334  FINISHED 

path  that  runs  between  those  big  stones.  Look,'  and 
he  showed  me  the  place  through  the  door-hole.  '  The 
path  ends  on  a  flat  boulder  at  the  end  of  the  rock. 
There  you  will  take  your  stand,  holding  in  your  right 
hand  a  little  assegai  which  will  be  given  to  you. 
Nombe  will  not  accompany  you  to  the  rock,  but  she 
will  crouch  between  the  stones  at  the  head  of  the  path 
and  perhaps  from  time  to  time  whisper  to  you  what 
to  do.  Thus  when  she  tells  you,  you  must  throw  the 
little  spear  into  the  air,  so  that  it  falls  among  a  number 
of  men  gathered  in  debate  who  will  be  seated  about 
twenty  paces  from  the  rock.  For  the  rest  you  are  to 
stand  quite  still,  saying  nothing  and  showing  no  alarm 
whatever  you  may  hear  or  see.  Among  the  men 
before  you  may  be  your  friend,  Macumazahn,  but  you 
must  not  appear  to  recognize  him,  and  if  he  speaks  to 
you,  you  must  make  no  answer.  Even  if  he  should 
seem  to  shoot  at  you,  do  not  be  afraid.  Do  you  under- 
stand?   If  so,  repeat  what  I  have  told  you.' 

"  I  obeyed  him  and  asked  what  would  happen  if  I 
did  not  do  these  things,  or  some  of  them. 

"  He  answered,  '  You  will  be  killed,  Nombe  will  be 
killed,  the  lord  Mauriti  your  lover  will  be  killed,  and 
your  friend  Macumazahn  will  be  killed.  Perhaps  even 
I  shall  be  killed  and  we  will  talk  the  matter  over  in  the 
land  of  ghosts.' 

"  On  hearing  this  I  said  I  would  do  my  best  to  carry 
out  his  orders,  and  after  m.aking  me  repeat  them  once 
more,  he  went  away.  Later,  Nombe  dressed  me  up  as 
you  saw  me,  Mr.  Quatermain,  put  some  glittering 
powder  into  my  hair  and  touched  me  beneath  the  eyes 
with  a  dark  kind  of  pigment.  Also  she  gave  me  the 
little  spear  and  made  me  practise  standing  quite  still 
with  it  raised  in  my  right  hand,  telling  me  that  when 


HEDA'S  TALE  335 

I  heard  her  say  the  word  '  Throw,'  I  was  to  cast  it  into 
the  air.  Then  the  moon  rose  and  we  heard  men  talking 
at  a  distance.  At  last  some  one  came  to  the  hut  and 
whispered  to  Nombe,  who  led  me  out  to  the  little  path 
between  the  rocks. 

*'This  must  have  been  nearly  two  hours  after  I 

heard  the  men  begin  to  talk " 

"  Excuse  me,"  I  interrupted,  "  but  where  was 
Nombe  all  those  two  hours?" 

*'  With  me.  She  never  left  my  side,  Mr.  Quater- 
main,  and  while  I  was  on  the  rock  she  was  crouched 
within  three  paces  of  me  between  two  big  stones  at 
the  mouth  of  the  path." 

"  Indeed,"  I  replied  faintly,  "  this  is  very  interest- 
ing. Please  continue — but  one  word,  how  was  Nombe 
dressed?    Did  she  wear  a  necklace  of  blue  beads?" 

"  Just  as  she  always  is,  or  rather  less  so,  for  she  had 
nothing  on  except  her  moocha,  and  certainly  no  blue 
beads.    But  why  do  you  ask  ?" 

''  From  curiosity  merely.  I  mean,  I  will  tell  you 
afterwards,  pray  go  on." 

"  Well,  I  stepped  forward  on  to  the  rock  and  at  first 
saw  nothing,  because  at  that  moment  the  moon  was 
hid  by  a  cloud;  indeed  Nombe  had  waited  for  the 
cloud  to  pass  over  its  face,  before  she  thrust  me  for- 
ward. Also  some  smoke  from  a  fire  below  was  rising 
straight  in  front  of  me.  Presently  the  cloud  passed, 
the  smoke  thinned,  and  I  saw  the  circle  of  those  savage 
men  seated  beneath,  and  in  their  centre  a  great  chief 
wearing  a  leopard's  skin  cloak  who  I  guessed  was  the 
king.  You  I  did  not  see,  Mr.  Quatermain,  because  you 
were  behind  a  tree,  yet  I  felt  that  you.  were  there,  a 
friend  among  all  those  foes.  I  stood  still,  as  I  had  been 
taught  to  do,  and  heard  the  murmur  of  astonishment 


336  FINISHED 

and  caught  the  gleam  of  the  moonlight  from  the  white 
feathers  that  were  sewn  upon  my  robe. 

"  Then  I  heard  also  the  voice  of  Zikali  speaking 
from  beneath.  He  called  on  you  to  come  oui  tc  shoot 
at  me,  and  the  man  whom  I  took  to  be  the  king,  ordered 
you  to  obey.  You  appeared  from  behind  the  tree,  and 
I  was  certain  from  the  look  upon  your  face  that  at 
that  distance  you  did  not  know  who  I  was  in  my  strange 
and  glittering  raiment.  You  lifted  the  pistol  and  I 
was  terribly  afraid,  for  I  had  seen  you  shoot  with  it 
before  on  the  verandah  of  the  Temple,  and  knew  well 
that  you  do  not  miss.  Very  nearly  I  screamed  out  to 
you,  but  remembered  and  was  silent,  thinking  that 
after  all  it  did  not  much  matter  if  I  died,  except  for 
the  sake  of  Maurice  here.  Also  by  now  I  guessed  that 
I  was  being  used  to  deceive  those  men  before  me  into 
some  terrible  act,  and  that  if  I  died,  at  least  they  would 
be  undeceived. 

**  I  thought  that  an  age  passed  between  the  time 
that  you  pointed  the  pistol  and  I  saw  the  flash  for 
which  I  was  waiting.'* 

*'  You  need  not  have  waited,  Heda,"  I  interposed, 
"  for  If  I  had  really  aimed  at  you  you  would  never 
have  seen  that  flash,  at  least  so  it  is  said.  I  too  guessed 
enough  to  shoot  above  you,  although  at  the  time  I 
did  not  know  that  it  was  you  on  the  rock;  indeed  I 
thought  it  was  Nombe  painted  up." 

"  Yes,  I  heard  the  bullet  sing  over  me.  Then  I 
heard  the  voice  of  Zikali  challenging  you  to  shoot  him, 
and  to  tell  the  truth,  hoped  that  you  would  do  so. 
Just  before  you  fired  for  the  second  time,  Nombe 
whispered  to  me — *  Throw  '  and  I  threw  the  little  red- 
handled  spear  into  the  air.  Then  as  the  pistol  went  off 
Nombe   whispered — '  Come.'     I   slipped  away  down 


HEDA'S  TALE  337 

the  path  and  back  with  her  into  the  hut,  where  she 
kissed  me  and  said  that  I  had  done  well  indeed,  after 
which  she  took  off  my  strange  robe  and  helped  me  to 
put  on  my  own  dress. 

*'  That  is  all  I  know,  except  that  some  hours  later  I 
was  awakened  from  sleep  and  put  into  the  litter  where 
I  went  to  sleep  again,  for  what  I  had  gone  through 
tired  me  very  much.  I  need  not  trouble  you  with  the 
rest,  for  \\c  journeyed  here  in  the  same  w^ay  that  we 
had  journeyed  to  Ulundi — by  night.  I  did  not  see 
Zikali,  but  in  answer  to  my  questions,  Nombe  told  me 
that  the  Zulus  had  declared  war  against  the  English. 
What  part  in  the  business  I  had  played,  she  would  not 
tell  me,  and  I  do  not  know  to  this  hour,  but  I  am  sure 
that  it  was  a  great  one. 

*' So  we  came  back  to  the  Black  Kloof,  where  I 
found  Maurice  quite  well,  and  now  he  had  better  go  on 
with  the  tale,  for  if  I  begin  to  tell  you  of  our  meeting 
I  shall  become  foolish." 

"  There  isn't  much  more  to  tell,"  said  Anscombe, 
*'  except  about  yourself.  While  Heda  was  away  I 
was  kept  a  prisoner  and  watched  day  and  night  by 
Zikali's  people  who  w^ould  not  let  me  stir  a  yard,  but 
otherwise  treated  me  kindly.  Then  one  day  at  sun- 
rise, or  shortly  after  it,  Heda  re-appeared  and  told 
me  all  this  story,  for  the  end  of  which,  as  you  may 
imagine,  I  thanked  God. 

*'  After  that  we  just  lived  on  here,  happily  enough 
since  we  were  together,  until  one  day  Nombe  told  us 
that  there  had  been  a  great  battle  in  which  the  Zulus 
had  wiped  out  the  English,  killing  hundreds  and  hun- 
dreds of  them,  although  for  every  soldier  that  they 
killed,  they  had  lost  two.  Of  course  this  made  us  very 
sad,  especially  as  we  were  afraid  you  might  be  with 


338  FINISHED 

our  troops.  We  asked  Nombe  if  you  were  present  at 
the  battle.  She  answered  that  she  would  inquire  of  her 
Spirit  and  went  through  some  very  strange  perform- 
ances wath  ashes  and  knuckle  bones,  after  which  she 
announced  that  you  had  been  in  the  battle  but  were 
alive  and  coming  this  way  with  a  dog  that  had  silver 
on  it.  We  laughed  at  her,  saying  that  she  could  not 
possibly  know  anything  of  the  sort,  also  that  dogs  as 
a  rule  did  not  carry  silver.  Whereon  she  only  smiled 
and  said — '  Wait.' 

"I  think  it  was  three  days  later  that  one  night 
towards  dawn  I  was  aw^akened  by  hearing  a  dog  bark- 
ing outside  my  hut,  as  though  it  wished  to  call  atten- 
tion to  its  presence.  It  barked  so  persistently  and  in 
a  way  so  unlike  a  Kaffir  dog,  that  at  length  about 
dawn  I  went  out  of  the  hut  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 
There,  standing  a  few  yards  away  surrounded  by  some 
of  Zikali's  people,  I  saw  Lost  and  knew  at  once  that 
it  was  an  English  Airedale,  for  I  have  had  several  of 
the  breed.  It  looked  very  tired  and  frightened,  and 
while  I  was  wondering  whence  on  earth  it  could  have 
come,  I  noticed  that  it  had  a  silver-mounted  collar  and 
remembered  Nombe  and  her  talk  about  you  and  a  dog 
that  carried  silver  on  it.  From  that  moment,  Allan, 
I  was  certain  that  you  were  somewhere  near,  especially 
as  the  beast  ran  up  to  me — it  would  take  no  notice  of 
the  Kaffirs — and  kept  looking  towards  the  mouth  of 
the  kloof,  as  though  it  wished  me  to  follow  it.  Just 
then  Nombe  arrived,  and  on  seeing  the  dog  looked  at 
me  oddly. 

"'I  have  a  message  for  you  from  my  master, 
Mauriti,'  she  said  to  me  through  Heda,  who  by  now 
had  arrived  upon  the  scene,  having  also  been  aroused 
by  Lost's  barking.     '  It  is  that  if  you  wish  to  take  a 


HEDA'S  TALE  339 

walk  with  a  strange  dog,  you  can  do  so,  and  bring 
back  anything  you  may  find.' 

"  The  end  of  it  was  that  after  we  had  fed  Lost  with 
some  milk  and  meat,  I  and  six  of  Zikali's  men  started 
down  the  kloof,  Lost  going  ahead  of  us  and  now  and 
again  running  back  and  whining.  At  the  mouth  of  the 
kloof  it  led  us  over  a  hill  and  down  into  a  bush-veld 
valley  where  the  thorns  grew  very  thick.  When  we 
had  gone  along  the  valley  for  about  two  miles,  one  of 
the  Kaffirs  saw  a  Basuto  pony  still  saddled,  and  caught 
it.  The  dog  went  on  past  the  pony  to  a  tree  that  had 
been  shattered  by  lightning,  and  there  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  tree  we  found  you  lying  senseless,  Allan, 
or,  as  I  thought  at  first,  dead,  and  by  your  side  a 
Martini  rifle  of  which  the  stock  also  seemed  to  have 
been  broken  by  lightning. 

"  Well,  we  put  you  on  a  shield  and  carried  you  back 
here,  meeting  no  one,  and  that  is  all  the  story,  Allan." 

He  stopped  and  we  stared  at  each  other.  Then  I 
called  Lost  and  patted  its  head,  and  the  dear  beast 
licked  my  hand  as  thougn  it  understood  that  it  was 
being  thanked. 

''  A  strange  tale,"  I  said,  ''  but  God  Almighty  has 
put  much  wisdom  into  His  creatures  of  which  we  know 
nothing.    Let  us  thank  Him,"  and  in  our  hearts  we  did. 

Thus  was  I  rescued  from  death  by  the  intelligence 
and  fidelity  of  a  four-footed  creature.  Doubtless  in 
my  semi-conscious  state  that  resulted  from  shock, 
weariness  and  sunstroke,  I  had  all  the  while  headed 
sub-consciously  and  without  any  definite  object  for  the 
Black  Kloof.  When  I  was  within  a  few  miles  of  it  I 
was  stunned  by  the  lightning  which  ran  down  the  rifle 
to  the  ground,  though  not  actually  struck.  Then  the 
dog,  which  had  escaped,  played  its  part,  wandering 


340  FINISHED 

about  the  country  to  find  help  for  me,  and  so  I  was 
saved. 

Now  of  the  long  months  that  followed  I  have  little 
to  tell.  They  were  not  unhappy  in  their  way,  for 
week  by  week  I  felt  myself  growing  stronger,  though 
very  slowly.  There  was  a  path,  steep,  difficult  and 
secret,  which  could  be  gained  through  one  of  the  caves 
in  the  precipice,  not  that  in  which  I  slept.  This  path 
ran  up  a  water-cut  kloof  through  a  patch  of  thorns 
to  a  flat  tableland  that  was  part  of  the  Ceza  stronghold. 
By  it,  when  I  had  gained  sufficient  strength,  some- 
times we  used  to  climb  to  the  plateau,  and  there  take 
exercise.  It  was  an  agreeable  change  from  the  stifling 
atmosphere  of  the  Black  Kloof.  The  days  were  very 
dull,  for  we  were  as  much  out  of  the  world  as  though 
we  had  been  marooned  on  a  desert  island.  Still  from 
time  to  time  we  heard  of  the  progress  of  the  war 
through  Nombe,  for  Zikali  I  saw  but  seldom. 

She  told  of  disasters  to  the  English,  of  the  death  of 
a  great  young  Chief  who  was  deserted  by  his  com- 
panions and  died  fighting  bravely — afterwards  I  dis- 
covered that  this  was  the  Prince  Imperial  of  France — 
of  the  advance  of  our  armies,  of  defeats  inflicted  upon 
Cetewayo's  impis,  and  finally  of  the  destruction  of  the 
Zulus  on  the  battlefield  of  Ulundi,  where  they  hurled 
themselves  by  thousands  lipon  the  British  square,  to 
be  swept  away  by  case-shot  and  the  hail  of  bullets. 
This  battle,  by  the  way,  the  Zulus  call,  not  Ulundi  or 
Nodwengu,  for  it  was  fought  in  front  of  Panda's  old 
kraal  of  that  name,  but  Ocwecweni,  which  means — 
"  the  fight  of  the  sheet-iron  fortress."  I  suppose  they 
give  it  this  name  because  the  hedge  of  bayonets,  flash- 
ing in  the  sunlight,  reminded  them  of  sheet-iron.    Or 


HEDA'S  TALE  341 

it  may  be  because  these  proved  as  impenetrable  as 
would  have  done  walls  of  iron.  At  any  rate  they 
dashed  their  naked  bodies  against  the  storm  of  lead 
and  fell  in  heaps,  only  about  a  dozen  of  our  men  being 
killed,  as  the  little  graveyard  in  the  centre  of  the  square 
entrenchment,  about  which  still  lie  the  empty  cartridge 
cases,  records  to-day. 

There,  then,  on  that  plain  perished  the  Zulu  king- 
dom which  was  built  up  by  Chaka. 

Now  it  was  after  this  event  that  I  saw  Zikali  and 
begged  him  to  let  us  go.  I  found  him  triumphant  and 
yet  strangely  disturbed  and,  as  I  thought,  more  appre- 
hensive than  I  had  ever  seen  him. 

"  So,  Zikali,"  I  said,  ''  if  what  I  hear  is  true,  you 
have  had  your  way  and  destroyed  the  Zulu  people. 
Now  you  should  be  happy." 

''  Is  man  ever  happy,  Macumazahn,  when  he  has 
gained  that  which  he  sought  for  years  ?  The  two  out 
there  sigh  and  are  sad  because  they  cannot  be  married 
after  their  own  white  fashion,  though  what  there  is  to 
keep  them  apart  I  do  not  know.  Well,  in  time  they 
will  be  married,  only  to  find  that  they  are  not  so  happy 
as  they  thought  they  would  be.  Oh !  a  day  will  come 
when  they  will  talk  to  each  other  and  say — '  Those 
moons  which  we  spent  waiting  together  in  the  Black 
Kloof  were  the  true  moons  of  sweetness,  for  then  we 
had  something  to  gain ;  now  we  have  gained  all — and 
what  is  it  ?  ' 

"  So  it  is  with  me,  Macumazahn.  Since  the  Zulus 
under  Chaka  killed  out  my  people,  the  Ndwandwe, 
year  by  year  I  have  plotted  and  waited  to  see  them 
wedded  to  the  assegai.  Now  it  has  come  about.  You 
white  men  have  stamped  them  flat  upon  the  plain  of 
Ulundi ;  they  are  no  more  a  nation.    And  yet  I  am  not 


342  FINISHED 

happy,  for  after  all  it  was  the  House  of  Senzangacona 
and  not  the  people  of  the  Zulus,  that  harmed  me  and 
mine,  and  Cetewayo  still  lives.  While  the  queen  bee 
remains  there  may  be  a  hive  again.  While  an  ember 
still  gloves  in  the  dead  ashes,  the  forest  may  yet  be 
fired.  Perhaps  when  Cetewayo  is  dead,  then  I  shall 
be  happy.  Only  his  death  and  mine  are  set  by  Fate 
as  close  together  as  two  sister  grains  of  corn  upon 
the  cob." 

I  turned  the  subject,  again  asking  his  leave  to  de- 
part to  Natal  or  to  join  the  English  army. 

"  You  cannot  go  yet,"  he  answered  sternly,  ''  so 
trouble  me  no  more.  The  land  is  full  of  wandering 
bands  of  Zulus  who  would  kill  you  and  your  blood 
would  be  on  my  head.  Moreover,  if  they  saw  a  white 
woman  who  had  sheltered  with  me,  might  they  not 
guess  something?  To  dress  a  doll  for  the  part  of  the 
Inkosazana-y-Zulu  is  the  greatest  crime  in  the  w^orld, 
Macumazahn,  and  what  would  happen  to  the  Opener 
of  Roads  and  all  his  House  if  it  were  even  breathed 
that  he  had  dressed  that  doll  and  thus  brought  about 
the  war  which  ruined  them?  When  Cetewayo  is 
killed  and  the  dead  are  buried  and  peace  falls  upon 
the  land,  the  peace  of  death,  then  you  shall  go, 
Macumazahn,  and  not  before." 

'*  At  least,  Zikali,  send  a  message  to  the  captains  of 
the  English  army  and  tell  them  that  we  are  here." 

"  Send  a  message  to  the  hyenas  and  tell  them  where 
the  carcase  is;  send  a  message  to  the  hunters  and  tell 
them  where  the  buck  Zikali  crouches  on  its  form ! 
Hearken,  Macumazahn,  if  you  do  this,  or  even  urge 
me  again  to  do  it,  neither  you  nor  your  friends  shall 
ever  leave  the  Black  Kloof.     I  have  spoken." 

Then  understanding  that  the  case  was  hopeless,  I 


HEDA'S  TALE  343 

left  him  and  he  glowered  after  me,  for  fear  had  made 
him  cruel.  He  had  won  the  long  game  and  success 
had  turned  to  ashes  in  his  mouth.  Or  rather,  he  had 
not  won — yet — since  his  war  was  against  the  House  of 
Senzangacona  from  which  he  and  his  tribe  had  suf- 
fered cruel  wrong.  To  pull  it  down  he  must  pull 
down  the  Zulu  nation;  it  was  like  burning  a  city  to 
destroy  a  compromising  letter.  He  had  burnt  the  city, 
but  the  letter  still  remained  intact  and  might  be  pro- 
duced in  evidence  against  him.  In  other  words  Cete- 
wayo  yet  lived.  Therefore  his  vengeance  remained 
quite  unslaked  and  his  danger  was  as  great,  or  per- 
haps greater  than  it  had  ever  been  before.  For  was  he 
not  the  prophet  who  by  producing  the  Princess  of 
Heaven,  the  traditional  goddess  of  the  Zulus,  before 
the  eyes  of  the  king  and  Council,  had  caused  them  to 
decide  for  war?  And  supposing  it  were  so  much  as 
breathed  that  this  spirit  which  they  seemed  to  see,  had 
been  but  a  trick  and  a  fraud,  what  then?  He  would 
be  tortured  to  death  if  his  dupes  had  time,  or  torn 
limb  from  limb  if  they  had  not,  that  is  if  he  could  die 
like  other  men — a  matter  as  to  which  personally  I  had 
no  doubts. 

Shortly  after  I  left  Zikali  Heda  and  I  ate  our  eve- 
ning meal  together.  Anscombe,  as  it  chanced,  had 
gone  by  the  secret  path  to  the  tableland  of  which  I 
have  spoken,  where  he  amused  himself,  as  of  course 
we  were  not  allowed  to  fire  a  gun,  by  catching  par- 
tridges, with  the  help  of  an  ingenious  system  of  grass 
nets  which  he  had  invented.  There  were  springs  on 
this  tableland  that  formed  Httle  pools  of  water,  at 
which  the  partridges,  also  occasionally  guineafowl  and 
bush  pheasants,  came  to  drink  at  sunrise  and  sunset. 
Here  it  was  that  he  set  his  nets  and  retired  to  work 


344  FINISHED 

them  at  those  hours  by  means  of  strings  that  he  pulled 
from  hiding-places.    So  Heda  and  I  were  alone. 

I  told  her  of  my  ill  success  with  Zikali,  at  which  she 
was  much  disappointed.  Then  by  an  afterthought  I 
suggested  that,  perhaps  she  might  try  to  do  something 
in  the  way  of  getting  a  message  through  to  the  English 
camp  at  Ulundi,  or  elsewhere,  by  help  of  the  witch- 
doctoress,  Nombe,  adding  that  I  would  speak  to  her 
myself  had  I  not  observed  that  I  seemed  to  be  out  of 
favour  with  her  of  late.  Heda  shook  her  head  and 
answered  that  she  thought  it  would  be  useless  to  try, 
also  too  dangerous.  Remembering  Zikali's  threat,  on 
reflection  I  agreed  with  her. 

"  Tell  me,  Mr.  Quatermain,"  she  added,  ''  is  it  pos- 
sible for  one  woman  to  be  in  love  with  another?  " 

I  stared  at  her  and  replied  that  I  did  not  understand 
what  she  meant,  since  women,  so  far  as  I  had  observed 
them,  were  generally  in  love  either  with  a  man  or  with 
themselves,  perhaps  more  often  with  the  latter  than 
the  former.  Rather  a  cheap  joke,  with  just  enough 
truth  in  it  to  make  it  acceptable — in  the  Black  Kloof. 

"  So  I  thought,"  she  answered,  ''  but  really  Nombe 
behaves  in  a  most  peculiar  way.  As  you  know  she  took 
a  great  fancy  to  me  from  the  beginning,  perhaps  be- 
cause she  had  never  had  any  other  woman  with  whom 
to  associate,  having,  so  far  as  I  can  make  out,  been 
brought  up  here  among  men  from  a  child.  Indeed,  her 
story  is  that  she  was  one  of  twins  and  therefore  as  the 
younger,  was  exposed  to  die  according  to  the  Zulu 
superstition.  Zikali,  however,  or  a  servant  of  his  who 
knew  what  was  happening,  rescued  and  reared  her,  so 
practically  I  am  the  only  female  with  whom  she  has 
ever  been  intimate.  At  any  rate  her  affection  for  me 
has  grown  and  grown  until,  although  it  seems  ungrate- 


HEDA'S  TALE  345 

ful  to  say  so,  It  has  become  something  of  a  nuisance. 
She  has  told  me  again  and  again  that  she  would  die 
to  protect  me,  and  that  if  by  chance  anything  happened 
to  me,  she  would  kill  herself  and  follow  me  into  an- 
other world.  She  is  continually  making  divinations 
about  my  future,  and  as  these,  in  which  she  entirely 
believes,  ahvays  show  me  as  living  without  her,  she  is 
much  distressed  and  at  times  bursts  into  tears." 

*'  Hysteria !  It  is  very  common  among  the  Zulu 
women,  and  especially  those  of  them  who  practise 
magic  arts,"  I  answered. 

"  Perhaps,  but  as  it  results  in  the  most  intense 
jealousy,  Nombe's  hysteria  is  awkward.  For  instance, 
she  is  horribly  jealous  of  Maurice." 

"  The  instincts  of  a  chaperone  developed  early,"  I 
suggested  again. 

*'  That  won't  quite  do,  Mr.  Quatermain,"  answered 
Heda  with  a  laugh,  "  since  she  is  even  more  jealous 
of  you.  With  reference  to  Maurice,  she  explains 
frankly  that  if  we  marry  she  might,  as  she  puts  it, 
'  continue  to  sit  outside  the  hut,'  but  that  in  your  case 
you  live  '  in  my  head,'  where  she  cannot  come  be- 
tween you  and  me." 

"Mad,"  I  remarked,  "quite  mad.  Still  madness 
has  to  be  dealt  with  in  this  world  like  other  things,  and 
Nombe,  being  an  abnormal  person,  may  suffer  from 
abnormal  ideas.  It  just  amounts  to  this;  she  has  con- 
ceived a  passionate  devotion  to  you,  at  which  I  am 
sure  neither  Maurice  nor  I  can  wonder." 

"  Are  those  the  kind  of  compliments  you  used  to 
pay  in  your  youth,  Mr.  Quatermain  ?  I  expect  so,  and 
now  that  you  are  old  you  cannot  stop  them.  Well, 
I  thank  you  all  the  same,  because  perhaps  you  mean 
what  you  say.    But  what  is  to  be  done  about  Nombc  ? 


346  FINISHED 

Hush !  here  she  comes.  I  will  leave  you  to  reason  with 
her,  if  you  get  the  chance,"  and  she  departed  in  a 
hurry. 

Nombe  arrived,  and  something  in  her  aspect  told 
me  that  I  was  going  to  get  the  chance.  Her  eternal 
smile  was  almost  gone  and  her  dark,  beautiful  eyes 
flashed  ominously.  Still  she  began  by  asking  in  a  mild 
voice  whether  the  lady  Heddana  had  eaten  her  supper 
with  appetite.  It  will  be  observed  that  she  was  not 
interested  in  my  appetite  or  whether  enough  was  left 
for  Anscombe  when  he  returned.  I  replied  that  as  far 
as  I  noted  she  had  consumed  about  half  a  partridge, 
with  other  things. 

"  I  am  glad,"  said  Nombe,  "  since  I  was  not  here  to 
attend  upon  her,  having  been  summoned  to  speak  with 
the  Master." 

Then  she  sat  down  and  looked  at  me  like  a  thunder- 
storm. 

"  I  nursed  you  when  you  were  so  ill,  Macumazahn," 
she  began,  ''  but  now  I  learn  that  for  the  milk  with 
which  I  fed  you,  you  would  force  me  to  drink  bitter 
water  that  will  poison  me." 

I  replied  I  was  well  aware  that  without  her  nursing 
I  should  long  ago  have  been  dead,  which  was  what 
caused  me  to  love  her  like  my  own  daughter.  But 
would  she  kindly  explain  ?    This  she  did  at  once. 

"  You  have  been  plotting  to  take  away  from  me  the 
lady  Heddana  who  to  me  is  as  mother  and  sister  and 
child.  It  is  useless  to  lie  to  me,  for  the  Master  has 
told  me  all;  moreover,  I  knew  it  for  myself,  both 
through  my  Spirit  and  because  I  had  watched  you.*' 

"  I  have  no  intention  of  lying  to  you,  Nombe,  about 
this  or  any  other  matter,  though  I  think  that  sometimes 
in  the  past  you  have  lied  to  me.    Tell  me,  do  you  ex- 


HEDA'S  TALE  347 

pect  the  Inkosi  Mauriti,  the  lady  Heddana  and  myself 
to  pass  the  rest  of  our  lives  in  the  Black  Kloof,  when 
they  wish  to  get  married  and  go  across  the  Black 
Water  to  where  their  home  will  be,  and  I  wish  to  at- 
tend to  my  affairs  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know  what  I  expect,  Macumazahn,  but  I 
do  know  that  never  while  I  live  will  I  be  parted  from 
the  lady  Heddana.  At  last  I  have  found  some  one  to 
love,  and  you  and  the  other  would  steal  her  away  from 
me." 

I  studied  her  for  a  while,  then  asked — 

"  Why  do  you  not  marry,  Nombe,  and  have  a  hus- 
band and  children  to  love? " 

"Marry?"  she  replied.  "I  am  married  to  my 
Spirit  which  does  not  dwell  beneath  the  sun,  and  my 
children  are  not  of  earth;  moreover,  all  men  are  hate- 
ful to  me,"  and  her  eyes  added,  ''  especially  you." 

"  That  is  a  calf  with  a  dog's  head,"  I  replied  In  the 
words  of  the  native  proverb,  meaning  that  she  said 
what  was  not  natural.  "  Well,  Nombe,  if  you  are  so 
fond  of  the  lady  Heddana,  you  had  better  arrange 
with  her  and  the  Inkosi  Mauriti  to  go  away  with 
them." 

"  You  know  well  I  cannot,  Macumazahn.  I  am  tied 
to  my  Master  by  ropes  that  are  stronger  than  iron, 
and  if  I  attempted  to  break  them  my  Spirit  would 
wither  and  I  should  wither  with  it." 

''  Dear  me !  what  a  dreadful  business.  That  is  what 
comes  of  taking  to  magic.  Well,  Nombe,  I  am  afraid 
I  have  nothing  to  suggest,  nor,  to  tell  you  the  truth, 
can  I  see  what  I  have  to  do  with  the  matter." 

Then  she  sprang  up  in  a  rage,  saying — 

"  I  understand  that  not  only  will  you  give  me  no 
help,  but  that  you  also  mock  at  me,   Macumazahn. 


348  FINISHED 

Moreover,  as  it  is  with  you,  so  it  is  with  Mauriti,  who 
pretends  to  love  my  lady  so  much,  though  I  love  her 
more  with  my  little  finger  than  he  does  with  all  his 
body  and  what  he  calls  his  soul.  Yes,  he  too  mocks  at 
me.  Now  if  you  were  both  dead,"  she  added  with 
sudden  venom,  "  my  lady  would  not  wish  to  go  away. 
Be  careful  lest  a  spell  should  fall  upon  you,  Macuma- 
zahn,"  and  without  more  words  she  turned  and  went. 

At  first  I  was  inclined  to  laugh;  the  whole  thing 
seemed  so  absurd.  On  reflection,  however,  I  perceived 
that  in  reality  it  was  very  serious  to  people  situated 
as  we  were.  This  woman  was  a  savage;  more,  a 
mystic  savage  of  considerable  powers  of  mind — a 
formidable  combination.  Also  there  were  no  restraints 
upon  her,  since  public  opinion  had  as  little  authority 
in  the  Black  Kloof  as  the  Queen's  Writ.  Lastly,  it 
was  not  unknown  for  women  to  conceive  these  violent 
affections  which,  if  thwarted,  filled  them  with  some- 
thing like  madness.  Thus  I  remembered  a  very  ter- 
rible occurrence  of  my  youth  which  resulted  in  the 
death  of  one  who  was  most  dear  to  me.  I  will  not 
dwell  on  it,  but  this,  too,  was  the  work  of  a  passionate 
creature,  woman  I  can  scarcely  call  her,  who  thought 
she  was  being  robbed  of  one  whom  she  adored. 

The  end  of  it  was  that  I  did  not  enjoy  my  pipe  that 
night,  though  luckily  Anscombe  returned  after  a  suc- 
cessful evening's  netting,  about  which  he  was  so  full 
of  talk  that  there  was  no  need  for  me  to  say  much. 
So  I  put  off  any  discussion  of  the  problem  until  the 
morrow. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE   KING  VISITS   ZIKALI 

Next  morning,  as  a  result  of  my  cogitations,  I  went 
to  see  Zikali.  I  was  admitted  after  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  and  delay,  for  although  his  retinue  was  limited 
and,  with  the  exception  of  Nombe,  entirely  male,  this 
old  prophet  kept  a  kind  of  semi-state  and  was  about 
as  difficult  to  approach  as  a  European  monarch.  I 
found  him  crouching  over  a  fire  in  his  hut,  since  at 
this  season  of  the  year  even  in  that  hot  place  the  air 
was  chilly  until  midday. 

''  What  is  it,  Macumazahn  ?  "  he  asked.  "  As  to 
your  going  away,  have  patience.  I  learn  that  he  who 
was  King  of  the  Zulus  is  in  full  flight,  with  the  white 
men  tracking  him  like  a  wounded  buck.  When  the 
buck  is  caught  and  killed,  then  you  can  go." 

"  It  is  about  Nombe,"  I  answered,  and  told  him  all 
the  story,  which  did  not  seem  to  surprise  him  at  all. 

"  Now  see,  Macumazahn,"  he  said,  taking  some 
snuff,  ''  how  hard  it  is  to  dam  up  the  stream  of  nature. 
This  child,  Nombe,  is  of  my  blood,  one  whom  I  saved 
from  death  in  a  strange  way,  not  because  she  was  of 
my  blood  but  that  I  might  make  an  experiment  with 
her.  Women,  as  you  who  are  wise  and  have  seen  much 
will  know,  are  in  truth  superior  to  men,  though,  be- 
cause they  are  weaker  in  body,  men  have  the  upper 
hand  of  them  and  think  themselves  their  masters,  a 
state  they  are  forced  to  accept  because  they  must  live 
and  cannot  defend  themselves.     Yet  their  brains  are 

349 


350  FINISHED 

keener,  as  an  assegai  is  keener  than  a  hoe;  they  are 
more  in  touch  with  the  hidden  things  that  shape  out 
fate  for  people  and  for  nations;  they  are  more  faith- 
ful and  more  patient,  and  by  instinct,  if  not  by  reason, 
more  far-seeing,  or  at  least  the  best  of  them  are  so, 
and  by  their  best,  like  men,  they  should  be  judged. 
Yet  this  is  the  hole  in  their  shield.  When  they  love 
they  become  the  slaves  of  love,  and  for  love's  sake  all 
else  is  brought  to  naught,  and  for  this  reason  they 
cannot  be  trusted.  With  men,  as  you  know,  this  is 
otherwise.  They,  too,  love,  by  Nature's  law,  but  al- 
ways behind  there  is  something  greater  than  love, 
although  often  they  do  not  understand  what  that  may 
be.  To  be  powerful,  therefore,  a  woman  must  be  one 
who  does  not  love  too  much.  If  she  cannot  love  at  all, 
then  she  is  hated  and  has  no  power,  but  she  must  not 
love  too  much. 

''  Once  I  thought  that  I  had  found  such  a  woman; 
she  was  named  Mameena,  whom  all  men  worshipped 
and  who  played  with  all  men,  as  I  played  with  her. 
But  what  was  the  end  of  it  ?  Just  as  things  were  going 
very  well  she  learned  to  love  too  much  some  man  of 
strange  notions,  who  would  have  thwarted  me  and 
brought  everything  to  nothing,  and  therefore  I  had  to 
kill  her,  for  which  I  was  sorry." 

Here  he  paused  to  take  some  more  snuff,  watching 
me  over  the  spoon  as  he  drew  it  up  his  great  nostrils, 
but  as  I  said  nothing,  went  on — 

''  Now  after  Mameena  was  dead  I  bethought  me 
that  I  would  rear  up  a  woman  who  could  still  love  but 
should  never  love  a  man  and  therefore  never  become 
mad  or  foolish,  because  I  believed  that  it  was  only 
man  who  in  taking  her  heart  from  woman  would  take 
her  wits  also.    This  child,  Nombe,  came  to  my  hand, 


THE  KING  VISITS  ZIKALI  351 

and  as  I  thought,  so  I  did.  Never  mind  how  I  did  it, 
by  medicine  perhaps,  by  magic  perhaps,  by  watering 
her  pride  and  making  it  grow  tall  perhaps,  or  by  all 
three.  At  least  it  was  done,  and  this  I  know  of  Nombe, 
she  will  never  care  for  any  man  except  as  a  woman 
may  care  for  a  brother. 

"  But  now  see  what  happens.  She,  the  wise,  the  in- 
structed, the  man-despiser,  meets  a  woman  of  another 
race  who  is  sweet  and  good,  and  learns  to  love  her,  not 
as  maids  and  mothers  love,  but  as  one  loves  the  Spirit 
that  she  worships.  Yes,  yes,  to  her  she  is  a  goddess 
to  be  worshipped,  one  whom  she  desires  to  serve  with 
all  her  heart  and  strength,  to  bow  down  before,  mak- 
ing offerings,  and  at  the  end  to  follow  into  death.  So 
it  comes  about  that  this  Nombe,  whose  mind  I  thought 
to  make  as  the  wings  of  a  bird  floating  on  the  air  while 
it  searches  for  its  prey,  has  become  even  madder 
than  other  women.  It  is  a  disappointment  to  me, 
Macumazahn." 

"  It  may  be  a  disappointment  to  you,  Zikali,  and  all 
that  you  say  is  very  interesting.  But  to  us  it  is  a 
danger.  Tell  me,  will  you  command  Nombe  to  cease 
from  her  folly  ?  " 

"  Will  I  forbid  the  mist  to  rise,  or  the  wind  to  blow, 
or  the  lightning  to  strike?  As  she  is,  she  is.  Her 
heart  is  filled  with  black  jealousy  of  Mauriti  and  of 
you,  as  a  butcher's  gourd  is  filled  with  blood,  for  she 
is  not  one  who  desires  that  her  goddess  should  have 
other  worshippers;  she  would  keep  her  for  herself 
alone." 

"  Then  in  this  way  or  in  that  the  gourd  must  be 
emptied,  ZikaH,  lest  we  should  be  forced  to  drink  from 
it  and  that  black  blood  should  poison  us." 

"  How,  unless  it  be  broken,  Macumazahn?    If  Hed- 


352  FINISHED 

dana  departs  and  leaves  her,  she  will  go  mad,  and 
accompany  her  she  cannot,  for  her  Spirit  dwells  here," 
and  he  tapped  his  own  breast.  ''  It  would  pull  her  back 
again  and  she  would  become  a  great  trouble  to  me,  for 
then  that  Spirit  of  hers  would  not  suffer  me  to  sleep, 
with  its  continual  startings  in  search  of  what  it  had 
lost,  and  its  returnings  empty-handed.  Well,  have  no 
fear,  for  at  the  worst  the  bowl  can  be  broken  and  the 
blood  poured  upon  the  earth,  as  I  have  broken  finer 
bowls  than  this  before;  had  I  all  the  bits  of  them  they 
would  make  a  heap  so  high,  Macumazahn !  "  and  he 
held  out  his  hand  on  a  level  with  his  head,  a  gesture 
that  made  my  back  creep.  "  I  will  tell  her  this  and 
it  may  keep  her  quiet  for  a  while.  Of  poison  you  need 
not  be  afraid,  since  unlike  mine,  her  Spirit  hates  it. 
Poison  is  not  one  of  its  weapons  as  it  is  with  mine. 
But  of  spells,  beware,  for  her  Spirit  has  some  which 
are  very  powerful." 

Now  I  jumped  up,  filled  with  indignation,  saying — 

"  I  do  not  believe  in  Nombe's  spells,  and  in  any  case 
how  am  I  to  guard  against  them  ?  " 

"  If  you  do  not  believe  there  is  no  need  to  guard, 
and  if  you  do  believe,  then  it  is  for  you  to  find  out  how 
to  guard,  Macumazahn.  Oh !  I  could  tell  you  the  story 
of  a  white  teacher  who  did  not  believe  and  would  not 
guard — but  never  mind,  never  mind.  Good-bye, 
Macumazahn,  I  will  speak  with  Nombe.  Ask  her  for 
a  lock  of  her  hair  to  wear  upon  your  heart  after  she 
has  enchanted  it.  The  charm  is  good  against  spells. 
0-ho-Oho-o!  What  fools  we  all  are,  white  and  black 
together!    That  is  what  Cetewayo  is  thinking  to-day." 

After  this  Nombe  became  much  more  agreeable. 
That  is  to  say  she  was  very  polite,  her  smile  was  more 
fixed  and  her  eyes  more  unfathomable  than  ever.    Evi- 


THE  KING  VISITS  ZIKALI  353 

dently  Zikali  had  spoken  to  her  and  she  had  listened. 
Yet  to  tell  the  truth  my  distrust  of  this  handsome 
young  woman  grew  deeper  day  by  day.  I  recognized 
that  there  was  a  great  gulf  between  her  and  the  normal, 
that  she  was  a  creature  fashioned  by  Zikali  who  had 
trained  her  as  a  gardener  trains  a  tree,  nay,  who  had 
done  more,  who  had  grafted  some  foreign  growth  of 
exotic  and  unnatural  spiritualism  on  to  her  primitive 
nature.  The  nature  remained  the  same,  but  the  graft 
or  grafts  bore  strange  flowers  and  fruit,  unholy  flowers 
and  poisonous  fruit.  Therefore  she  was  not  to  blame 
— sometimes  I  wonder  whether  in  this  curious  world, 
could  one  see  their  past  and  their  future,  anybody  is 
to  blame  for  anything— but  this  did  not  make  her  the 
less  dangerous. 

Some  talks  I  had  with  her  only  increased  my  ap- 
prehensions, for  I  found  that  in  a  way  she  had  no  con- 
science. Life,  she  told  me,  was  but  a  dream,  and  all 
its  laws  as  evolved  by  man  were  but  illusions.  The 
real  life  was  elsewhere.  There  was  the  distant  lake 
on  which  the  flower  of  our  true  existence  floated. 
Without  this  unseen  lake  of  supernatural  water  the 
flower  could  not  float;  indeed  there  would  be  no  flower. 
Moreover,  the  flower  did  not  matter;  sometimes  it 
would  have  this  shape  and  colour,  sometimes  that.  It 
was  but  a  thing  destined  to  grow  and  bloom  and  rot, 
and  during  its  day  to  be  ugly  or  to  be  beautiful,  to 
smell  sweet  or  ill,  as  it  might  chance,  and  ultimately 
to  be  absorbed  back  into  the  general  water  of  Life. 

I  pointed  out  to  her  that  all  flowers  had  roots  which 
grew  in  soil.  Looking  at  an  orchid-like  plant  that 
crept  along  the  bough  of  a  tree,  she  answered  that  this 
was  not  true  as  some  grew  upon  air.  But  however  this 
might  be,  the  soil,  or  the  moisture  in  the  air,  was  dis- 


354  FINISHED 

tilled  from  thousands  of  other  flower  lives  that  had 
flourished  in  their  day  and  been  forgotten.  It  did  not 
matter  when  they  died  or  how  many  other  flowers  they 
choked  that  they  might  live.  Yet  each  flower  had  its 
own  spirit  which  always  had  been  and  always  would  be. 

I  asked  her  of  the  end  and  the  object  of  that  spirit. 
She  answered  darkly  that  she  did  not  know  and  if  she 
did,  would  not  say,  but  that  these  were  very  dreadful. 

Such  were  some  of  her  vague  and  figurative  asser- 
tions which  I  only  record  to  indicate  their  uncom- 
fortable and  indeed  but  half  human  nature.  I  forgot 
to  add  that  she  declared  that  every  flower  or  life  had 
a  twin  flower  or  life,  which  in  each  successive  growth 
it  was  bound  to  find  and  bloom  beside,  or  wither  to 
the  root  and  spring  again,  and  that  ultimately  these 
two  would  become  one,  and  as  one  flourish  eternally. 
Of  all  of  which  I  understood  and  understand  little, 
except  that  she  had  grasped  the  elements  of  some  truth 
which  she  could  not  express  in  clear  and  definite 
language. 

One  day  I  was  seated  in  Zikali's  hut  whither  by 
permission  I  had  come  to  ask  the  latest  news,  when 
suddenly  Nombe  appeared  and  crouched  down  before 
him. 

"  Who  gave  you  leave  to  enter  here,  and  what  is 
your  business?"  he  asked  angrily. 

"  Home  of  Spirits,"  she  replied  in  a  humble  voice, 
"  be  not  angry  with  your  servant.  Necessity  gave  me 
leave,  and  my  business  is  to  tell  you  that  strangers 
approach." 

"  Who  are  they  that  dare  to  enter  the  Black  Kloof 
unannounced?" 

*'  Cetewayo  the  King  is  one  of  them,  the  others  I  do 


THE  KING  VISITS  ZIKALI  355 

not  know,  but  they  are  many,  armed  all  of  them.  They 
approach  your  gate;  before  a  man  can  count  two 
hundred  they  will  be  here." 

"  Where  are  the  white  chief  and  the  lady  Heddana?'* 
asked  Zikali. 

"  By  good  fortune  they  have  gone  by  the  secret 
path  to  the  tableland  and  will  not  be  back  till  sunset. 
They  wished  to  be  alone,  so  I  did  not  accompany  them, 
and  Macumazahn  here  said  that  he  was  too  weary  to 
do  so."  (This  was  true.  Also  like  Nombe  I  thought 
that  they  wished  to  be  alone.) 

"  Good.  Go,  tell  the  king  that  I  knew  of  his  coming 
and  am  awaiting  him.  Bid  my  servants  kill  the  ox 
which  is  in  the  kraal,  the  fat  ox  that  they  thought  is 
sick  and  therefore  fit  food  for  a  sick  king,"  he  added 
bitterly. 

She  glided  away  like  a  startled  snake.  Then  Zikali 
turned  to  me  and  said  swiftly — 

"  Macumazahn,  you  are  in  great  danger.  If  you  are 
found  here  you  will  be  killed,  and  so  will  the  others 
whom  I  will  send  to  warn  not  to  return  till  this  king 
has  gone  away.  Go  at  once  to  join  them.  No,  it  is 
too  late,  I  hear  the  Zulus  come.  Take  that  kaross, 
cover  yourself  with  it  and  lie  among  the  baskets  and 
beerpots  here  near  the  entrance  of  the  hut  in  the 
deepest  of  the  shadows,  so  that  if  any  enter,  perchance 
you  will  not  be  found.  I  too  am  in  danger  who  shall 
be  held  to  account  for  all  that  has  happened.  Perhaps 
they  will  kill  me,  if  I  can  be  killed.  If  so,  get  away 
with  the  others  as  best  you  can.  Nombe  will  tell  you 
where  your  horses  are  hidden.  In  that  case  let 
Heddana  take  Nombe  with  her,  for  when  I  am  dead 
she  will  go,  and  shake  her  off  in  Natal  if  she  troubles 
her.    Whatever  chances,  remember,  Macumazahn,  that 


356  FINISHED 

I  have  done  my  best  to  keep  my  word  to  you  and  to 
protect  you  and  your  friends.  Now  I  go  to  look  on 
this  pricked  bladder  who  was  once  a  king." 

He  scrambled  from  the  hut  with  slow,  toad-like 
motions,  while  I  with  motions  that  were  anything  but 
slow,  grabbed  the  grey  catskin  kaross  and  ensconced 
myself  among  the  beerpots  and  mats  in  such  a  position 
that  my  head,  over  which  I  set  a  three-legged  carved 
stool  of  Zikali's  own  cutting,  was  but  a  few  inches  to 
the  left  of  the  door-hole  and  therefore  in  the  deepest 
of  the  shadows.  Thence  by  stretching  out  my  neck  a 
little,  I  could  see  through  the  hole,  also  hear  all  that 
passed  outside.  Unless  a  deliberate  search  of  the  hut 
should  be  made  I  was  fairly  safe  from  observation, 
even  if  it  were  entered  by  strangers.  One  fear  I  had, 
however,  it  was  lest  the  dog  Lost  should  get  into  the 
place  and  smell  me  out.  I  had  left  him  tied  to  the 
centre  pole  in  my  own  hut,  because  he  hated  Zikali  and 
always  growled  at  him.  But  suppose  he  gnawed 
through  the  cord,  or  any  one  let  him  loose! 

Scarcely  had  Zikali  seated  himself  in  his  accustomed 
place  before  the  hut,  than  the  gate  of  the  outer  fence 
was  opened  and  approaching  through  it  I  saw  forty 
or  fifty  fierce  and  way-worn  men.  In  front  of  them, 
riding  on  a  tired  horse  that  was  led  by  a  servant,  was 
Cetewayo  himself.  He  was  assisted  to  dismount,  or 
rather  threw  his  great  bulk  into  the  arms  that  were 
waiting  to  receive  him. 

Then  after  some  words  with  his  following  and  with 
one  of  Zikali's  people,  followed  by  three  or  four 
indiinas  and  leaning  on  the  arm  of  Umnyamana,  the 
Prime  Minister,  he  entered  the  enclosure,  the  rest 
remaining  without.  Zikali,  who  sat  as  though  asleep, 
suddenly   appeared    to    wake    up   and   perceive   him. 


THE  KING  VISITS  ZIKALI  357 

Struggling  to  his  feet  he  lifted  his  right  arm  and  gave 
the  royal  salute  of  Bayete,  and  with  it  titles  of  praise, 
such  as  ''  Black  One!"  "  Elephant!"  "  Earth-Shaker!" 
''  Conqueror!"  "  Eater-up  of  the  White  men!"  "  Child 
of  the  Wild  Beast  (Chaka)  whose  teeth  are  sharper 
than  the  Wild  Beast's  ever  were!"  and  so  on,  until 
Cetewayo,  growing  impatient,  cried  out — 

"  Be  silent.  Wizard.  Is  this  a  time  for  fine  words? 
Do  you  not  know  my  case  that  you  offend  my  ears  with 
them?  Give  us  food  to  eat  if  you  have  it,  after  which 
I  would  speak  with  you  alone.  Be  swift  also;  here 
I  may  not  stay  for  long,  since  the  white  dogs  are  at 
my  heels." 

"  I  knew  that  you  were  coming,  O  King,  to  honour 
my  poor  house  with  a  visit,"  said  Zikali  slowly,  "  and 
therefore  the  ox  is  already  killed  and  the  meat  will 
soon  be  on  the  fire.  Meanwhile  drink  a  sup  of  beer, 
and  rest." 

He  clapped  his  hands,  whereon  Nombe  and  some 
servants  appeared  with  pots  of  beer,  of  which,  after 
Zikali  had  tasted  it  to  show  that  it  was  not  poisoned, 
the  king  and  his  people  drank  thirstily.  Then  it  was 
taken  to  those  outside. 

"What  is  this  that  my  ears  hear?"  asked  Zikali 
when  Nombe  and  the  others  had  gone,  "  that  the  White 
Dogs  are  on  the  spoor  of  the  Black  Bull  ?" 

Cetewayo  nodded  heavily,  and  answered — 

"  My  impis  were  broken  to  pieces  on  the  plain  of 
Ulundi;  the  cowards  ran  from  the  bullets  as  children 
run  from  bees.  My  kraals  are  burnt  and  I,  the  King, 
with  but  a  faithful  remnant  fly  for  my  life.  The 
prophecy  of  the  Black  One  has  come  true.  The  people 
of  the  Zulus  are  stamped  flat  beneath  the  feet  of  the 
great  White  People." 


358  FINISHED 

"  I  remember  that  prophecy,  O  King.  Mopo  told  it 
to  me  within  an  hour  of  the  death  of  the  Black  One 
when  he  gave  me  the  little  red-handled  assegai  that  he 
snatched  from  the  Black  One's  hand  to  do  the  deed. 
It  makes  me  almost  young  again  to  think  of  it,  although 
even  then  I  was  old,"  replied  Zikali  in  a  dreamy  voice 
like  one  who  speaks  to  himself. 

Hearing  him  from  under  my  kaross  I  bethought  me 
that  he  had  really  grown  old  at  last,  who  for  the 
moment  evidently  forgot  the  part  which  this  very 
assegai  had  played  a  few  months  before  in  the  Valley 
of  Bones.  Well,  even  the  greatest  masters  make  such 
slips  at  times  when  their  minds  are  full  of  other  things. 
But  if  Zikali  forgot,  Cetewayo  and  his  councillors 
remembered,  as  I  could  see  by  the  look  of  quick  intelli- 
gence that  flashed  from  face  to  face. 

"  So !  Mopo  the  murdered,  he  who  vanished  from 
the  land  after  the  death  of  my  uncle  Dingaan,  gave 
you  the  little  red  assegai,  did  he.  Opener  of  Roads! 
And  but  a  few  months  ago  that  assegai,  which  old 
Sigananda  knew  again,  thrown  by  the  hand  of  the 
Inkosazana-y-Zulu,  drew  blood  from  my  body  after 
the  white  man,  Macumazahn,  had  severed  its  shaft 
with  his  bullet.  Now  tell  me,  Opener  of  Roads,  how 
did  it  pass  from  your  keeping  into  that  of  the  spirit 
Nomkubulwana  ?" 

At  this  question  I  distinctly  saw  a  shiver  shake  the 
frame  of  Zikali  who  realized  too  late  the  terrible  mis- 
take he  had  made.  Yet  as  only  the  great  can  do,  he 
retrieved  and  even  triumphed  over  his  error. 

"  Oho-ho!"  he  laughed,  "who  am  I  that  I  can  tell 
how  such  things  happen  ?  Do  you  not  know,  O  King, 
that  the  Spirits  leave  what  they  will  and  take  what 
they  will,  whether  it  be  but  a  blade  of  grass,  or  the  life 


THE  KING  VISITS  ZIKALI  359 

of  a  man  " — here  he  looked  at  Cetewayo — "  or  even 
of  a  people?  Sometimes  they  take  the  shadow  and 
sometimes  the  substance,  since  spirit  or  matter,  all  is 
theirs.  As  for  the  little  assegai,  I  lost  it  years  ago. 
I  remember  that  the  last  time  I  saw  it  was  in  the  hands 
of  a  woman  named  Mameena  to  whom  I  showed  it  as 
a  strange  and  bloody  thing.  After  her  death  I  found 
that  it  was  gone,  so  doubtless  she  took  it  with  her  to 
the  Underworld  and  there  gave  it  to  the  Queen 
Nomkubulwana,  with  whom  you  may  remember  this 
Mameena  returned  from  that  Underworld  yonder  in 
the  Valley  of  Bones." 

"  It  may  be  so,"  said  Cetewayo  sullenly,  "  yet  it  was 
no  spirit  iron  that  cut  my  thigh,  but  what  do  I  know 
of  the  ways  of  Spirits?  Wizard,  I  would  speak  with 
you  in  your  hut  alone  where  no  ear  can  hear  us." 

''  My  hut  is  the  King's,"  answered  Zikali,  ''  yet  let 
the  King  remember  that  those  Spirits  of  which  he  does 
not  know  the  ways,  can  always  hear,  yes,  even  the 
thoughts  of  men,  and  on  them  do  judgment." 

**  Fear  not,"  said  Cetewayo,  *'  amongst  many  other 
things  I  remember  this  also." 

Then  Zikali  turned  and  crept  into  the  hut,  whisper- 
ing as  he  passed  me — 

"  Lie  silent  for  your  life."  And  Cetewayo  having 
bidden  his  retinue  to  depart  outside  the  fence  and 
await  him  there,  followed  after  him. 

They  sat  them  down  on  either  side  of  the  smoulder- 
ing fire  and  stared  at  each  other  through  the  thin 
smoke  there  in  the  gloom  of  the  hut.  By  turning  my 
head  that  the  foot  of  the  king  had  brushed  as  he  passed, 
I  could  watch  them  both.  Cetewayo  spoke  the  first  in 
a  hoarse,  slow  voice,  saying — 

''  Wizard,  I  am  in  danger  of  my  life  and  I  have  come 


36o  FINISHED 

to  you  who  know  all  the  secrets  of  this  land,  that  you 
may  tell  me  in  what  place  I  may  hide  where  the  white 
men  cannot  find  me.  It  must  be  told  into  my  ear  alone, 
since  I  dare  not  trust  the  matter  to  any  other,  at  any 
rate  until  I  must.  They  are  traitors  every  man  of 
them,  yes,  even  those  who  seem  to  be  most  faithful. 
The  fallen  man  has  no  friends,  least  of  all  if  he  chances 
to  be  a  king.  Only  the  dead  will  keep  his  counsel. 
Tell  me  of  the  place  I  need." 

''  Dingaan,  who  was  before  you,  once  asked  this 
same  thing  of  me,  O  King,  when  he  was  flying  from 
Panda  your  father,  and  the  Boers.  I  gave  him  advice 
that  he  did  not  take,  but  sought  a  refuge  of  his  own 
upon  a  certain  Ghost-mountain.  What  happened  to 
him  there  that  Mopo,  of  whom  you  spoke  a  while  ago, 
can  tell  you  if  he  still  lives."  ^ 

"  Surely  you  are  an  ill-omened  night-bird  who  thus 
croak  to  me  continually  of  the  death  of  kings,"  broke 
in  Cetewayo  with  suppressed  rage.  Then  calming 
himself  with  an  effort  added,  "  Tell  me  now,  where 
shall  I  hide?" 

''  Would  you  know,  King?  Then  hearken.  On  the 
south  slope  of  the  Ingome  Range  west  of  the  Ibulul- 
wana  River,  on  the  outskirts  of  the  great  forest,  there 
is  a  kloof  whereof  the  entrance,  which  only  one  man 
can  pass  at  a  time,  is  covered  by  a  thicket  of  thorns 
and  marked  by  a  black  rock  shaped  like  a  great  toad 
with  an  open  mouth,  or,  as  some  say,  like  myself, 
"  The-Thing-that-should-never-have-been-born."  Near 
to  this  rock  dwells  an  old  woman,  blind  of  one  eye  and 
lacking  a  hand,  which  the  Black  One  cut  off  shortly 
before  his  death,  because  when  he  killed  her  father, 
she  saw  the  future  and  prophesied  a  like  death  to  him, 
'  See  Nada  the  Lily  .—Editor. 


THE  KING  VISITS  ZIKALI  361 

although  then  she  was  but  a  child.  This  woman  is  of 
our  company,  being  a  witch-doctoress.  I  will  send  a 
Spirit  to  her,  if  you  so  will  it,  to  warn  her  to  watch 
for  you  and  your  company,  O  King,  and  show  you 
the  mouth  of  the  kloof,  where  are  some  old  huts  and 
water.  There  you  will  never  be  found  unless  you  are 
betrayed." 

"  Who  can  betray  me  when  none  know  whither  I 
am  going  ?"  asked  Cetewayo.  "  Send  the  Spirit,  send 
it  at  once,  that  this  one-armed  witch  may  make  ready." 

''  What  is  the  hurry,  King,  seeing  that  the  forest  is 
far  away?  Yet  be  it  as  you  will.  Keep  silence  now, 
lest  evil  should  befall  you." 

Then  of  a  sudden  Zikali  seemed  to  go  off  into  one 
of  his  trances.  His  form  grew  rigid,  his  eyes  closed, 
his  face  became  fixed  as  though  in  death,  and  foam 
appeared  upon  his  lips.  He  was  a  dreadful  sight  to 
look  on,  there  in  the  gloomy  hut. 

Cetewayo  watched  him  and  shivered.  Then  he 
opened  his  blanket  and  I  perceived  that  fastened  about 
him  by  a  loop  of  hide  in  such  a  fashion  that  it  could 
be  drawn  out  in  a  moment,  was  the  blade  of  a  broad 
assegai,  the  shaft  of  which  was  shortened  to  about  six 
inches.  His  hand  grasped  this  shaft,  and  I  understood 
that  he  was  contemplating  the  murder  of  Zikali.  Then 
it  seemed  to  me  that  he  changed  his  mind  and  that  his 
lips  shaped  the  words — "  Not  yet,"  though  whether 
he  really  spoke  them  I  do  not  know.  At  least  he  with- 
drew his  hand  and  closed  the  blanket. 

Slowly  Zikali  opened  his  eyes,  staring  at  the  roof 
of  the  hut,  whence  came  a  curious  sound  as  of  squeak- 
ing bats.  He  looked  like  a  dead  man  coming  to  life 
again.  For  a  few  moments  he  turned  up  his  ear  as 
though  he  listened  to  the  squeaking,  then  said — 


362  FINISHED 

"  It  is  well.  The  Spirit  that  I  summoned  has  visited 
her  of  our  company  who  is  named  One-hand  and 
returned  with  the  answer.  Did  you  not  hear  it  speak- 
ing in  the  thatch,  O  King?" 

*'  I  heard  something,  Wizard,"  answered  Cetewayo 
in  an  awed  voice.    "  I  thought  it  was  a  bat." 

"  A  bat  it  is,  O  King,  one  with  wide  wings  and 
swift.  This  bat  says  that  my  sister.  One-hand,  will 
meet  you  on  the  third  day  from  now  at  this  hour  on 
the  further  side  of  the  ford  of  the  Ibululwana,  where 
three  milk-trees  grow  together  on  a  knoll.  She  will 
be  sitting  under  the  centre  milk-tree  and  will  wait  for 
tw^o  hours,  no  more,  to  show  you  the  secret  entrance 
to  the  kloof." 

"  The  road  is  rough  and  long,  I  shall  have  to  hurry 
when  worn  out  with  travelling,"  said  Cetewayo. 

"  That  is  so,  O  King.  Therefore  my  counsel  is  that 
you  begin  the  journey  as  soon  as  possible,  especially  as 
I  seem  to  hear  the  baying  of  the  white  dogs  not  far 
away." 

*'By  Chaka's  headl  I  will  not,"  growled  Cetewayo, 
"  who  thought  to  sleep  here  in  peace  this  night." 

**  As  the  King  wills.  All  that  I  have  is  the  King  s. 
Only  then  One-hand  will  not  be  waiting  and  some  other 
place  of  hiding  must  be  found,  since  this  is  known  to 
me  only  and  to  her;  also  that  Spirit  which  I  sent  will 
make  no  second  journey,  nor  can  I  travel  to  show  it 
to  the  King." 

"  Yes,  Wizard,  it  is  known  to  you  and  to  myself. 
Methinks  it  would  be  better  were  it  known  to  me  alone. 
I  have  a  spoonful  of  snuff  to  share  (i.e.  a  bone  to  pick) 
with  you.  Wizard.  It  would  seem  that  you  set  my 
feet  and  those  of  the  Zulu  people  upon  a  false  road, 
yonder  in  the  Valley  of  Bones,  causing  me  to  declare 


THE  KING  VISITS  ZIKALI  363 

war  upon  the  white  Queen  and  thereby  bringing  us  all 
to  ruin." 

"  Mayhap  my  memory  grows  bad,  O  King,  for  I  do 
not  remember  that  I  did  these  things.  I  remember 
that  the  spirit  of  a  certain  Mameena  whom  I  called 
up  from  the  dead,  prophesied  victory  to  the  King, 
which  victory  has  been  his.  Also  it  prophesied  other 
victories  to  the  King  in  a  far  land  across  the  water, 
which  victories  doubtless  shall  be  his  in  due  season; 
for  myself  I  gave  no  counsel  to  the  King  or  to  his 
indunas  and  generals." 

"  You  lie,  Wizard,"  exclaimed  Cetewayo  hoarsely. 
''  Did  you  not  summon  the  shape  of  the  Princess  of 
Heaven  to  be  the  sign  of  war,  and  did  she  not  hold  in 
her  hand  that  assegai  of  the  Black  One  which  you 
have  told  me  was  in  your  keeping?  How  did  it  pass 
from  your  keeping  into  the  hand  of  a  spirit?" 

'*  As  to  that  matter  I  have  spoken,  O  King.  For  the 
rest,  is  Nomkubulwana  my  servant  to  come  and  go 
at  my  bidding?" 

"  I  think  so,"  said  Cetewayo  coldly.  "  I  think  also 
that  you  who  know  the  place  where  I  purpose  to  hide, 
would  do  well  to  forget  it.  Surely  you  have  lived  too 
long,  O  Opener  of  Roads,  and  done  enough  evil  to  the 
House  of  Senzangacona,  which  you  ever  hated." 

So  he  spoke,  and  once  more  I  saw  his  hand  steal 
towards  the  spearhead  which  was  hidden  beneath  the 
blanket  that  he  wore. 

Zikah  saw  it  also  and  laughed.  "  Oho!"  he  laughed, 
"  forgetting  all  my  warnings,  and  that  the  day  of  my 
death  will  be  his  own,  the  King  thinks  to  kill  me 
because  I  am  old  and  feeble  and  alone  and  unarmed. 
He  thinks  to  kill  me  as  the  Black  One  thought,  as 
Dingaan  thought,  as  even  Panda  thought,  yet  I  Hve  on 


364  FINISHED 

to  this  day.  Well,  I  bear  no  malice  since  it  is  natural 
that  the  King  should  wish  to  kill  one  who  knows  the 
secret  of  where  he  would  hide  himself  for  his  own 
life's  sake.  That  spearhead  which  the  King  is  finger- 
ing is  sharp,  so  sharp  that  my  bare  breast  cannot  turn 
its  edge.  I  must  find  me  a  shield !  I  must  find  me  a 
shield!  Fire,  you  are  not  yet  dead.  Awake,  make 
smoke  to  be  my  shield!"  and  he  waved  his  long, 
monkey-like  arms  over  the  embers,  from  which 
instantly  there  sprang  up  a  reek  of  thin  white  smoke 
that  appeared  to  take  a  vague  and  indefinite  shape 
which  suggested  the  shadow  of  a  man;  for  to  me  it 
seemed  a  nebulous  and  wavering  shadow,  no  more. 

"  What  are  you  staring  at,  O  King?"  went  on  Zikali 
in  a  fierce  and  thrilling  voice.  *'  Who  is  it  that  you 
see?  Who  has  the  fire  sent  to  be  my  shield?  Ghosts 
are  so  thick  here  that  I  do  not  know.  I  cannot  tell 
one  of  them  from  the  other.  Who  is  it?  Who,  who 
of  all  that  you  have  slain  and  who  therefore  are  your 
foes?" 

"  Umbelazi,  my  brother,"  groaned  Cetewayo.  "  My 
brother  Umbelazi  stands  before  me  with  spear  raised ; 
he  whom  I  brought  to  his  death  at  the  battle  of  the 
Tugela.  His  eyes  flame  upon  me,  his  spear  is  raised 
to  strike.  He  speaks  words  I  cannot  understand. 
Protect  me,  O  Wizard!  Lord  of  Spirits,  protect  me 
from  the  spirit  of  Umbelazi." 

Zikali  laughed  wildly  and  continued  to  wave  his 
arms  above  the  fire  from  which  smoke  poured  ever 
more  densely,  till  the  hut  was  full  of  it. 

When  it  cleared  away  again  Cetewayo  w^as  gone ! 

"Saw  you  ever  the  like  of  that?"  said  Zikali, 
addressing  the  kaross  under  which  I  was  sweltering. 
"  Tell  me,  Macumazahn." 


THE  KING  VISITS  ZIKALI  365 

"  Yes/'  I  answered,  thrusting  out  my  head  as  a 
tortoise  does,  ''  when  in  this  very  hut  you  seemed  to 
produce  the  shape,  also  out  of  smoke,  I  think,  of 
one  whom  I  used  to  know.  Say,  how  do  you  do  it, 
ZikaH?" 

"  Do  it.  Who  knows  ?  Perchance  I  do  nothing. 
Perchance  I  think  and  you  fools  see,  no  more.  Or 
perchance  the  spirits  of  the  dead  who  are  so  near  to 
us,  come  at  my  call  and  take  themselves  bodies  out  of 
the  charmed  smoke  of  my  fire.  You  white  men  are 
wise,  answer  your  own  question,  Macumazahn.  At 
least  that  smoke  or  that  ghost  saved  me  from  a  spear 
thrust  in  the  heart,  wherewith  Cetewayo  was  minded 
to  pay  me  for  showing  him  a  hiding-place  which  he 
desired  should  be  secret  to  himself  alone.  Well,  well, 
I  can  pay  as  well  as  Cetewayo  and  my  count  is  longer. 
Now  lie  you  still,  Macumazahn,  for  I  go  out  to  watch. 
He  will  not  bide  long  in  this  place  which  he  deems 
haunted  and  ill-omened.  He  will  be  gone  ere  sunset, 
that  is  w^ithin  an  hour,  and  sleep  elsewhere." 

Then  he  crept  from  the  hut  and  presently,  though  I 
could  see  nothing,  for  now  the  gate  of  the  fence  was 
shut,  I  heard  voices  debating  and  finally  that  of  Cete- 
wayo say  angrily — 

"  Have  done !  It  Is  my  will.  You  can  eat  your 
food  outside  of  this  place  which  is  bewitched;  the  girl 
will  show  us  where  are  the  huts  of  which  the  wizard 
speaks." 

A  few  minutes  later  Zikali  crept  back  into  the  hut, 
laughing  to  himself. 

"  All  is  safe,"  he  said,  "  and  you  can  come  out  of 
your  hole,  old  jackal.  He  who  calls  himself  a  king  is 
gone,  taking  with  him  those  whom  he  thinks  faithful, 
most  of  whom  are  but  waiting  a  chance  to  betray  him. 


2,66  FINISHED 

What  did  I  say,  a  king?  Nay,  in  all  Africa  there  is 
no  slave  so  humble  or  so  wretched  as  this  broken  man. 
Oh!  feather  by  feather  I  have  plucked  my  fowl  and 
by  and  by  I  shall  cut  his  throat.  You  will  be  there, 
Macumazahn,  you  will  be  there." 

"  I  trust  not,"  I  answered  as  I  mopped  my  brow. 
"  We  have  been  near  enough  to  throat-cutting  this 
afternoon  to  last  me  a  long  while.  Where  has  the 
king  gone?" 

''  Not  far,  Macumazahn.  I  have  sent  Nombe  to 
guide  him  to  the  huts  in  the  little  dip  five  spear  throws 
to  the  right  of  the  mouth  of  the  kloof  where  live  the 
old  herdsman  and  his  people  who  guard  my  cattle. 
He  and  all  the  rest  are  away  with  the  cattle  that  are 
hidden  in  the  Ceza  Forest  out  of  reach  of  the  white 
men,  so  the  huts  are  empty.  Oh !  now  I  read  what  you 
are  thinking.  I  do  not  mean  that  he  should  be  taken 
there.  It  is  too  near  my  house  and  the  King  still  has 
friends." 

''  Why  did  you  send  Nombe?"  I  asked. 

*'  Because  he  would  have  no  other  guide,  who  does 
not  trust  my  men.  He  means  to  keep  her  with  him 
for  some  days  and  then  let  her  go,  and  thus  she  will 
be  out  of  mischief.  Meanwhile  you  and  your  friends 
can  depart  untroubled  by  her  fancies,  and  join  the 
white  men  who  are  near.    To-morrow  you  shall  start." 

"  That  is  good,"  I  said  with  a  sigh  of  relief.  Then 
an  idea  struck  me  and  I  added,  "  I  suppose  no  harm 
will  come  to  Nombe,  who  might  be  thought  to  know 
too  much?" 

"  I  hope  not,"  he  replied  indifferently,  "  but  that  is 
a  matter  for  her  Spirit  to  decide.  Now  go,  Macuma- 
zahn, for  I  am  weary." 

I  also  was  weary  after  my  prolonged  seclusion  under 


THE  KING  VISITS  ZIKALI  367 

that  very  hot  skin  rug.  For  be  it  remembered  I  was 
not  yet  strong  again,  and  although  this  was  not  the 
real  reason  why  I  had  stopped  behind  when  the  others 
went  to  the  plateau,  I  still  grew  easily  tired.  My  real 
reason  was  that  of  Nombe — that  I  thought  they  pre- 
ferred to  be  alone.  I  looked  about  me  and  saw  with 
relief  that  Cetewayo  and  every  man  of  his  retinue  were 
really  gone.  They  had  not  even  waited  to  eat  the  ox 
that  had  been  killed  for  them,  but  had  carried  off  the 
meat  with  other  provisions  to  their  sleeping-place  out- 
side the  kloof.  Having  made  sure  of  this  I  went  to 
my  hut  and  loosed  Lost  that  fortunately  enough  had 
been  unable  to  gnaw  through  the  thick  buffalo-hide 
riem  with  which  I  had  fastened  him  to  the  pole. 

He  greeted  me  with  rapture  as  though  we  had  been 
parted  for  years.  Had  he  belonged  to  Ulysses  himself 
he  could  not  have  been  more  joyful.  When  one  is 
despondent  and  lonesome,  how  grateful  is  the  whole- 
hearted welcome  of  a  dog  which,  we  are  sometimes 
tempted  to  think,  is  the  only  creature  that  really  cares 
for  us  in  the  world.  Every  other  living  thing  has  side 
interests  of  its  own,  but  that  of  a  dog  is  centred  in  its 
master,  though  it  is  true  that  it  also  dreams  affection- 
ately of  dinner  and  rabbits. 

Then  with  Lost  at  my  feet  I  sat  outside  the  hut 
smoking  and  waiting  for  the  return  of  Anscombe  and 
Heda.  Presently  I  caught  sight  of  them  in  the  gloam- 
ing. Their  arms  were  around  one  another,  and  in 
some  remarkable  way  they  had  managed  to  dispose 
their  heads,  forgetting  that  the  sky  was  still  light 
behind  them,  in  such  fashion  that  it  was  difficult  to 
tell  one  from  the  other.  I  reflected  that  it  was  a  good 
thing  that  at  last  we  were  escaping  from  this  con- 
founded kloof  and  country  for  one  where  they  could 


368  FINISHED 

marry  and  make  an  end,  and  became  afflicted  with  a 
sneezing  fit. 

Heda  asked  where  Nombe  was  and  why  supper  was 
not  ready,  for  Nombe  played  the  part  of  cook  and 
parlourmaid  combined.  I  told  her  something  of  what 
had  happened,  whereon  Heda^  who  did  not  appreciate 
its  importance  in  the  least,  remarked  that  she,  Nombe, 
might  as  well  have  put  on  the  pot  before  she  went  and 
done  sundry  other  things  which  I  forget.  Ultimately 
we  got  something  to  eat  and  turned  in,  Heda  grum- 
bling a  little  because  she  must  sleep  alone,  for  she  had 
grown  used  to  the  company  of  the  ever-watchful 
Nombe,  who  made  her  bed  across  the  door-hole  of  the 
hut. 

Anscombe  was  soon  lost  in  dreams,  if  he  did  dream, 
but  I  could  not  sleep  well  that  night.  I  was  fearful 
of  I  knew  not  what,  and  so,  I  think,  was  Lost,  for  he 
fidgeted  and  kept  poking  me  with  his  nose.  At  last, 
I  think  it  must  have  been  about  two  hours  after  mid- 
night, he  began  to  growl.  I  could  hear  nothing,  al- 
though my  ears  are  sharp,  but  as  he  went  on  growling 
I  crept  to  the  door-hole  and  drew  aside  the  board. 
Lost  slipped  out  and  vanished,  while  I  waited,  listen- 
ing. Presently  I  thought  I  heard  a  soft  footfall  and 
a  whisper,  also  that  I  saw  the  shape  of  a  woman  which 
reminded  me  of  Nombe,  shown  faintly  by  the  star- 
light. It  vanished  in  a  moment  and  Lost  returned 
wagging  his  tail,  as  he  might  well  have  done  if  it  were 
Nombe  who  was  attached  to  the  dog.  As  nothing 
further  happened  I  went  back  to  bed,  reflecting  that 
I  was  probably  mistaken,  since  Nombe  had  been  sent 
away  for  some  days  by  Zikali  and  would  scarcely  dare 
to  return  at  once,  even  if  she  could  do  so. 

Shortly  before  daylight  Lost  began  to  growl  again 


THE  KING  VISITS  ZIKALI  369 

in  a  subdued  and  thunderous  fashion.  This  time  I  got 
up  and  dressed  myself  more  or  less.  Then  I  went  out. 
The  dawn  was  just  breaking  and  by  its  light  I  saw  a 
strange  scene.  About  fifty  yards  away  in  the  narrow 
nek  that  ran  over  some  boulders  to  the  site  of  our  huts, 
stood  what  seemed  to  be  the  goddess  Nomkubulwana 
as  I  had  seen  her  on  the  point  of  rock  in  the  Valley  of 
Bones.  She  wore  the  same  radiant  dress  and  in  the 
dim  glow  had  all  the  appearance  of  a  white  woman. 
I  stood  amazed,  thinking  that  I  dreamt,  when  from 
round  the  bend  emerged  a  number  of  Zulus,  creeping 
forward  stealthily  with  raised  spears. 

They  caught  sight  of  the  supernatural  figure  which 
barred  their  road,  halted  and  whispered  to  each  other. 
Then  they  turned  to  fly,  but  before  they  went  one  of 
them,  as  it  seemed  to  me  through  sheer  terror,  hurled 
his  assegai  at  the  figure  which  remained  still  and  un- 
moved. 

In  thirty  seconds  they  were  gone;  in  sixty  their 
footsteps  had  died  away.  Then  the  figure  wheeled 
slowly  round  and  by  the  strengthening  light  I  per- 
ceived that  a  spear  transfixed  its  breast. 

As  it  sank  to  the  ground  I  ran  up  to  it.  It  was 
Nombe  with  her  face  and  arms  whitened  and  her  life- 
blood  running  down  the  glittering  feather  robe. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE    MADNESS   OF   NOMBE 

The  dog  reached  Nombe  first  and  began  to  lick  her 
face,  its  tongue  removing  patches  of  the  white  which 
had  not  had  time  to  dry.  She  was  lying,  her  back 
supported  by  one  of  the  boulders.  With  her  left  hand 
she  patted  the  dog's  head  feebly  and  with  her  right 
drew  out  the  assegai  from  her  body,  letting  it  fall  upon 
the  ground.  Recognizing  me  she  smiled  in  her  usual 
mysterious  fashion  and  said — 

''  All  is  well,  Macumazahn,  all  is  very  well.  I  have 
deserved  to  die  and  I  do  not  die  in  vain.'* 

"  Don't  talk,  let  me  see  your  wound,"  I  exclaimed. 

She  opened  her  robe  and  pointed;  it  was  quite  a 
small  gash  beneath  the  breast  from  which  blood  ebbed 
slowly. 

"  Let  it  be,  Macumazahn,"  she  said.  ''  I  am  bleed- 
ing inside  and  it  is  mortal.  But  I  shall  not  die  yet. 
Listen  to  me  while  I  have  my  mind.  Yesterday  when 
Mauriti  and  Heddana  went  up  to  the  plain  I  wished  to 
go  with  them  because  I  had  news  that  Zulus  were  wan- 
dering everywhere  and  thought  that  I  might  be  able  to 
protect  my  mistress  from  danger.  Mauriti  spoke  to 
me  roughly,  telling  me  that  I  was  not  wanted.  Of  that 
I  thought  little,  for  to  such  words  I  am  accustomed 
from  him ;  moreover,  they  are  to  be  forgiven  to  a  man 
in  love.  But  it  did  not  end  there,  for  my  lady  Heddana 
also  pierced  me  with  her  tongue,  which  hurt  more  than 

370 


THE  MADNESS  OF  NOMBfi         371 

this  spear  thrust  does,  Macumazahn,  for  I  could  see 
that  her  speech  had  been  prepared  and  that  she  took 
this  chance  to  throw  it  at  me.  She  said  that  I  did  not 
know  where  I  should  sit;  that  I  was  a  thorn  beneath 
her  nail,  and  that  whenever  she  wished  to  talk  with 
Mauriti,  or  with  you,  Macumazahn,  I  was  ever  there 
with  my  ear  open  like  the  mouth  of  a  gourd.  She  com- 
manded me  in  future  to  come  only  when  I  was  called; 
all  of  which  things  I  am  sure  Mauriti  had  taught  her, 
who  in  herself  is  too  gentle  even  to  think  them — unless 
you  taught  her,  Macumazahn." 

I  shook  my  head  and  she  went  on — 

"  No,  it  was  not  you  who  also  are  too  gentle,  and 
having  suffered  yourself,  can  feel  for  those  who  suffer, 
which  Mauriti  who  has  never  suffered  cannot  do. 
Still,  you  too  thought  me  a  trouble,  one  that  sticks  in 
the  flesh  like  a  hooked  thorn,  or  a  tick  from  the  grass, 
and  cannot  be  unfastened.  You  spoke  to  the  Master 
about  it  and  he  spoke  to  me." 

This  time  I  nodded  in  assent. 

"I  do  not  blame  you,  Macumazahn;  indeed  now  I 
see  that  you  were  wise,  for  what  right  has  a  poor  black 
doctoress  to  seek  the  love,  or  even  to  look  upon  the 
face  of  the  great  white  lady  whom  for  a  little  while 
Fate  has  caused  to  walk  upon  the  same  path  with  her  ? 
But  yesterday  I  forgot  that,  Macumazahn,  for  you  see 
we  are  all  of  us,  not  one  self,  but  many  selves,  and 
each  self  has  its  times  of  rule.  Nombe  alive  and  well 
was  one  woman,  Nombe  dying  is  another,  and  doubt- 
less Nombe  dead  will  be  a  third,  unless,  as  she  prays, 
she  should  sleep  for  ever. 

"  Macumazahn,  those  words  of  Heddana's  were  to 
me  what  gall  is  to  sweet  milk.  My  blood  clotted  and 
my  heart  turned  sour.     It  was  not  against  her  that  I 


372  FINISHED 

was  angry,  because  that  can  never  happen,  but  against 
Mauriti  and  against  you.  My  Spirit  whispered  in  my 
ear.  It  said,  '  If  Mauriti  and  Macumazahn  were  dead 
the  lady  Heddana  would  be  left  alone  in  a  strange 
land.  Then  she  would  learn  to  rest  upon  you  as  upon 
a  stick,  and  learn  to  love  the  stick  on  which  she  rested, 
though  it  be  so  rough  and  homely.'  But  how  can  I 
kill  them,  I  asked  of  my  Spirit,  and  myself  escape 
death? 

"  *  Poison  is  forbidden  to  you  by  the  pact  between 
us,'  answered  my  Spirit,  *  yet  I  will  show  you  a  way, 
who  am  bound  to  serve  you  in  all  things  good  or  ill.' 

"  Then  we  nodded  to  each  other  in  my  breast,  Macu- 
mazahn, and  I  waited  for  what  should  happen  who 
knew  that  my  Spirit  would  not  lie.  Yes,  I  waited  for 
a  chance  to  kill  you  both,  forgetting,  as  the  wicked  do 
forget  in  their  madness,  that  even  if  I  were  not  found 
out,  soon  or  late  Heddana  would  guess  the  truth  and 
then,  even  if  she  had  learned  to  love  me  a  thousand 
times  more  than  she  ever  could,  would  come  to  hate 
me  as  a  mother  hates  a  snake  that  has  slain  her  child. 
Or  even  if  she  never  learned  or  guessed  in  life,  after 
death  she  would  learn  and  hunt  me  and  spit  on  me 
from  world  to  world  as  a  traitress  and  a  murderer, 
one  who  has  sinned  past  pardon." 

Here  she  seemed  to  grow  faint  and  I  turned  to  seek 
for  help.    But  she  caught  hold  of  my  coat  and  said — 

"  Hear  me  out,  Macumazahn,  or  I  will  run  after 
you  till  I  fall  and  die." 

So  thinking  it  best,  I  stayed  and  she  went  on — 

"  My  Spirit,  which  must  be  an  evil  one  since  Zikali 
gave  it  me  when  I  was  made  a  doctoress,  dealt  truly 
with  me,  for  presently  the  king  and  his  people  came. 
Moreover,  my  Spirit  brought  it  about  that  the  king 


THE  MADNESS  OF  NOMBE         373 

would  have  no  other  guide  but  me  to  lead  him  to  the 
kraal  where  he  slept  last  night,  and  I  went  as  though 
unwillingly.  At  the  kraal  the  king  sent  for  me  and 
questioned  me  in  a  dark  hut,  pretending  to  be  alone, 
but  I  who  am  a  doctoress  knew  that  two  other  men 
were  in  that  hut,  taking  note  of  all  my  words.  He 
asked  me  of  the  Inkosazana-y-Zulu  who  appeared  in 
the  Valley  of  Bones  and  of  the  little  assegai  she  held  in 
her  hand,  and  of  the  magic  of  the  Opener  of  Roads, 
and  many  other  things.  I  said  that  I  knew  nothing 
of  the  Inkosazana,  but  that  without  doubt  my  Master 
was  a  great  magician.  He  did  not  believe  me.  He 
threatened  that  I  should  be  tortured  very  horribly  and 
was  about  to  call  his  servants  to  torment  me  till  I  told 
the  truth.  Then  my  Spirit  spoke  in  my  heart  saying, 
*  Now  the  door  is  open  to  you,  as  I  promised.  Tell 
the  king  of  the  two  white  men  whom  the  Master  hides, 
and  he  will  send  to  kill  them,  leaving  the  lady  Heddana 
and  you  alone  together.'  So  I  pretended  to  be  afraid 
and  told  him,  whereon  he  laughed  and  answered — 

For  your  sake  I  am  glad,  girl,  that  you  have 
spoken  the  truth;  besides  it  is  useless  to  torture  a 
witch,  since  then  the  spirit  in  her  only  vomits  lies.' 

"  Next  he  called  aloud  and  a  man  came,  who  it  was 
I  could  not  see  in  the  dark.  The  king  commanded 
him  to  take  me  to  one  of  the  other  huts  and  tie  me 
up  there  to  the  roof-pole.  The  man  obeyed,  but  he  did 
not  tie  me  up;  he  only  blocked  the  hut  with  the  door- 
board,  and  sat  with  me  there  in  the  dark  alone. 

"  Now  I  grew  cunning  and  began  to  talk  with  him, 
spreading  a  net  of  sweet  words,  as  the  fowler  spreads 
a  net  for  cranes  from  which  he  would  tear  the  crests. 
Soon  by  his  talk  I  found  out  that  the  king  and  his 
people  knew  more  than  I  guessed.    Macumazahn,  they 


374  FINISHED 

had  seen  the  cart  which  still  stands  under  the  over- 
hanging rock  by  the  mouth  of  the  cave.  I  asked  him 
if  that  were  all,  pretending  that  the  cart  belonged  to 
my  Master,  to  whom  it  had  been  brought  from  the 
field  of  Isandhlwana,  that  he  might  be  drawn  about  in 
it,  who  was  too  weak  to  walk. 

The  man  said  that  if  I  would  kiss  him  he  would  tell 
me  everything.  I  bade  him  tell  me  first,  swearing  that 
then  I  would  kiss  him.  Yes,  Macumazahn,  I,  whom 
no  man's  lips  have  ever  touched,  fell  as  low  as  this. 
So  he  grew  foolish  and  told  me.  He  told  me  that  they 
had  also  seen  a  kappje  such  as  white  women  wear, 
hanging  on  the  hut  fence,  and  I  remembered  that  after 
washing  the  headdress  of  my  mistress  I  had  set  it  there 
to  dry  in  the  sun.  He  told  me  also  that  the  King  sus- 
pected that  she  who  wore  that  kappje  was  she  who  had 
played  the  part  of  the  Inkosazana  in  the  Valley  of 
Bones.  I  asked  him  what  the  king  would  do  about  the 
matter,  at  the  same  time  denying  that  there  was  any 
white  woman  in  the  Black  Kloof.  He  said  that  at 
dawn  the  king  would  send  and  kill  these  foreign  rats, 
whom  the  Opener  of  Roads  kept  in  the  thatch  of  his 
hut.  Now  he  drew  near  and  asked  his  pay.  I  gave  it 
to  him — with  a  knife-point,  Macumazahn.  Oh!  that 
was  a  good  thrust.  He  never  spoke  again.  Then  I 
slipped  away,  for  all  the  others  were  asleep,  and  was 
here  a  little  after  midnight." 

"  I  thought  I  saw  you,  Nombe,"  I  said,  "  but  was 
not  sure,  so  I  did  nothing." 

She  smiled  and  answered — 

'*  Ah !  I  was  afraid  that  the  Watcher-by-Night  would 
be  watching  by  night;  also  the  dog  ran  up  to  me,  but 
he  knew  me  and  I  sent  him  back  again.  Now  while 
I  was  coming  home,  thoughts  entered  my  heart.     I 


THE  MADNESS  OF  NOMBE         375 

saw,  as  one  sees  by  a  lightning  flash,  all  that  I  had 
done.  The  king  and  his  people  were  not  sure  that  the 
Master  was  hiding  white  folk  here  and  would  never 
have  sent  back  to  kill  them  on  the  chance.  I  had  made 
them  sure,  as  indeed,  being  mad,  I  meant  to  do.  More- 
over, in  throwing  spears  at  the  kites  I  had  killed  my 
own  dove,  since  it  was  on  the  false  Inkosazana  who 
had  caused  them  to  declare  war  and  brought  the  land 
to  ruin,  that  they  wished  to  be  avenged,  and  perchance 
on  him  who  taught  her  her  part,  not  on  one  or  two 
wandering  white  men.  I  saw  that  when  Cetewayo's 
people  came,  and  there  were  many  more  of  them  out- 
side, several  hundreds  I  think,  they  would  shave  the 
whole  head  and  burn  the  whole  tree.  Every  one  in  the 
kloof  would  be  killed. 

"  How  could  I  undo  the  knot  that  I  had  tied  and 
stamp  out  the  fire  that  I  had  lit  ?  That  was  the  ques- 
tion. I  bethought  me  of  coming  to  you,  but  without 
arms  how  could  you  help?  I  bethought  me  of  going 
to  the  Master,  but  I  was  ashamed.  Also,  what  could 
he  do  with  but  a  few  servants,  for  the  most  of  his 
people  are  away  with  the  cattle?  He  is  too  weak  to 
climb  the  steep  path  to  the  plain  above,  nor  was  there 
time  to  gather  folk  to  carry  him.  Lastly,  even  if  there 
were  time  which  there  was  not,  and  we  went  thither 
they  would  track  us  out  and  kill  us.  For  the  rest  I 
did  not  care,  nor  for  myself,  but  that  the  lady  Heddana 
should  be  butchered  who  was  more  to  me  than  a 
hundred  lives,  and  through  my  treachery — ah!  for 
that  I  cared. 

"  I  called  on  my  Spirit  to  help  me,  but  it  would  not 
come.  My  Spirit  was  dead  in  me  because  now  I  would 
do  good  and  not  ill.  Yet  another  Spirit  came,  that  of 
one  Mameena  whom  once  you  knew.    She  came  angrily 


376  FINISHED 

like  a  storm,  and  I  shrank  before  her.  She  said, 
'  Vile  witch,  you  have  plotted  to  murder  Macumazahn, 
and  for  that  you  shall  answer  to  me  before  another 
sun  has  set  over  this  earth  of  yours.  Now  you  seek  a 
way  of  escape  from  your  own  wickedness.  Well,  it 
can  be  had,  but  at  a  price.* 

"  '  What  price,  O  Lady  of  Death?'  I  asked. 
"  '  The  price  of  your  own  life.  Witch.' 
"  I  laughed  into  that  ghost  face  of  hers  and  said — 
"  '  Is  this  all?    Be  swift  and  show  me  the  way,  O 
Lady  of  Death,  and  afterwards  we  will  balance  our 
account' 

*'  Then  she  whispered  into  the  ear  of  my  heart  and 
was  gone.  I  ran  on,  for  the  dawn  was  near.  I 
whitened  myself  with  lime,  I  put  on  the  glittering  cloak 
and  powdered  my  hair  with  the  sparkling  earth.  I 
took  a  little  stick  in  my  hand  since  I  could  find  no 
spear  and  had  no  time  to  search,  and  just  as  day  began 
to  break,  I  crept  out  and  stood  in  the  bend  of  the  path. 
The  slayers  came,  twelve  or  so  of  them,  but  behind 
were  many  more.  They  saw  the  Inkosazana-y-Zulu 
barring  their  way  and  were  much  afraid.  They  fled, 
but  out  of  his  fright  one  of  them  threw  a  spear  which 
went  home,  as  I  knew  it  would.  He  watched  to  see 
if  I  should  fall,  but  I  would  not  fall.  Then  he  fled 
faster  than  the  rest,  knowing  himself  accursed  who 
had  lifted  steel  against  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  and  oh! 
I  am  glad,  I  am  glad !" 

She  ceased,  exhausted,  yet  with  a  great  exultation 
in  her  beautiful  eyes;  indeed  at  that  moment  she  looked 
a  most  triumphant  creature.  I  stared  at  her,  thrilled 
through  and  through.  She  had  been  wicked,  no  doubt, 
but  how  splendid  was  her  end;  and,  thank  Heaven! 
she  was  troubled  with  no  thought  of  what  might  befall 


THE  MADNESS  OF  NOMBE         377 

her  after  that  end,  although  I  was  sure  she  beheved 
that  she  would  live  again  to  face  Mameena. 

I  knew  not  what  to  do.  I  did  not  like  to  leave  her, 
especially  as  no  earthly  power  could  help  her  case, 
since  slowly  but  quite  surely  she  was  bleeding  to  death 
from  an  internal  wound.  By  now  the  sun  was  up  and 
Zikali's  people  were  about.  One  of  them  appeared 
suddenly  and  saw,  then  with  a  howl  of  terror  turned 
to  fly  aw^ay. 

"Fool!  Fool!"  I  cried,  "go  summon  the  lady 
Heddana  and  the  Inkosi  Mauriti.  Bid  them  come 
swiftly  if  they  would  see  the  doctoress  Nombe  before 
she  dies." 

The  man  leapt  off  like  a  buck,  and  within  a  few 
minutes  I  saw  Heda  and  Anscombe  running  towards 
us,  half-dressed,  and  went  to  meet  them. 

"  What  is  it?"  she  gasped. 

"  I  have  only  time  to  tell  you  this,"  I  answered. 
"  Nombe  is  dying.  She  gave  her  life  to  save  you,  how 
I  will  explain  afterwards.  The  assegai  that  pierced 
her  was  meant  for  your  heart.  Go,  thank  her,  and  bid 
her  farewell.    Anscombe,  stop  back  with  me." 

We  stood  still  and  watched  from  a  little  distance. 
Heda  knelt  down  and  put  her  arms  about  Nombe. 
They  whispered  together  into  each  other's  ears.  Then 
they  kissed. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  Zikali  appeared,  leaning 
on  two  of  his  servants.  By  some  occult  art  or  instinct 
he  seemed  to  know  all  that  had  happened,  and  oh !  he 
looked  terrible.  He  crouched  down  in  front  of  the 
dying  woman  and,  toad-like,  spat  his  venom  at  her. 

"  You  lost  your  spirit,  did  you  ?"  he  said.  "  Well,  it 
came  back  to  me  laden  with  the  black  honey  of  your 
treachery,  to  me,  its  home,  as  a  bee  comes  to  its  hive. 


378  FINISHED 

It  has  told  me  everything,  and  well  for  you,  Witch, 
it  is  that  you  are  dying.  But  think  not  that  you  shall 
escape  me  there  in  the  world  below,  for  thither  I  will 
follow  you.  Curses  on  you,  traitress,  who  would  have 
betrayed  me  and  brought  all  my  plans  to  naught.  Ow! 
in  a  day  to  come  I  will  pay  you  back  a  full  harvest  for 
this  seed  of  shame  that  you  have  sown." 

She  opened  her  eyes  and  looked  at  him,  then 
answered  quite  softly — 

"  I  think  your  chain  is  broken,  O  Zikali,  no  more 
my  master.  I  think  that  love  has  cut  your  chain  in 
two  and  I  fear  you  never  more.  Keep  the  spirit  you 
lent  to  me;  it  is  yours,  but  the  rest  of  me  is  my  own, 
and  in  the  house  of  my  heart  another  comes  to  dwell." 

Then  once  more  she  stretched  out  her  arms  towards 
Heda  and  murmuring,  "  Sister,  forget  me  not.  Sister, 
who  will  await  you  for  a  thousand  years,"  she  passed 
away. 

It  was  a  good  ending  to  a  bad  business,  and  I  con- 
fess I  felt  glad  when  it  was  finished.  Only  afterwards 
I  regretted  very  much  that  I  had  not  found  an  oppor- 
tunity to  ask  her  whether  or  no  she  had  masqueraded 
as  Mameena  in  the  Valley  of  Bones.  Now  it  is  too 
late. 

We  buried  poor  Nombe  decently  in  her  own  little 
hut  where  she  used  to  practise  her  incantations.  Zikali 
and  his  people  wished  apparently  to  throw  her  to  the 
vultures  for  some  secret  reason  that  had  to  do  with 
their  superstitions.  But  Heda,  who,  now  that  Nombe 
was  dead,  developed  a  great  affection  for  her  not 
unmixed  with  a  certain  amount  of  compunction  for 
which  really  she  had  no  cause,  withstood  him  to  his 


THE  MADNESS  OF  NOMBE         379 

face  and  insisted  upon  a  decent  interment.  So  she 
was  laid  to  earth  still  plastered  with  the  white  pigment 
and  wrapped  in  the  bloodstained  feather  robe.  I  may 
add  that  on  the  following  morning  one  of  Zikali's 
servants  informed  me  solemnly  that  because  of  this  she 
had  been  seen  during  the  night  riding  up  and  down 
the  rocks  on  a  baboon  as  Zulu  umtagati  are  supposed 
to  do.  I  have  small  doubt  that  as  soon  as  we  were 
gone  they  dug  her  up  again  and  threw  her  to  the 
vultures  and  the  jackals  according  to  their  first  inten- 
tion. 

On  this  day  we  at  length  escaped  from  the  Black 
Kloof,  and  in  our  own  cart,  for  during  the  night  our 
horses  arrived  mysteriously  from  somewhere,  in  good 
condition  though  rather  wild.  I  went  to  say  good-bye 
to  Zikali,  who  said  little,  except  that  we  should  meet 
once  more  after  many  moons.  Anscombe  and  Heda 
he  would  not  see  at  all,  but  only  sent  them  a  message, 
to  the  effect  that  he  hoped  they  would  think  kindly  of 
him  through  the  long  years  to  come,  since  he  had  kept 
his  promise  and  preserved  them  safe  through  many 
dangers.  I  might  have  answered  that  he  had  first  of 
all  put  them  into  the  dangers,  but  considered  it  wise  to 
hold  my  tongue.  I  think,  however,  that  he  guessed 
my  thought,  if  one  can  talk  of  guessing  in  connexion 
with  Zikali,  for  he  said  that  they  had  no  reason  to 
thank  him,  since  if  he  had  served  their  turn  they  had 
served  his,  adding — 

"  It  will  be  strange  in  the  times  to  be  for  the  lady 
Heddana  to  remember  that  it  was  she  and  no  other 
who  crumpled  up  the  Zulus  like  a  frostbitten  winter 
reed,  since  had  she  not  appeared  upon  the  rock 
in  the  Valley  of  Bones,  there  would  have  been  no 
war." 


38o  FINISHED 

"  She  did  not  do  this,  you  did  it,  Zikali,"  I  said, 
"  making  her  your  tool  through  love  and  fear." 

"  Nay,  Macumazahn,  I  did  not  do  it;  it  was  done  by 
what  you  call  God  and  I  call  Fate  in  whose  hand  I 
am  the  tool.  Well,  say  to  the  lady  Heddana  that  in 
payment  I  will  hold  back  the  ghost  of  Nombe  from 
haunting  her,  if  I  can.  Say  also  that  if  I  had  not 
brought  her  and  her  lover  to  Zululand  they  would  have 
been  killed." 

So  we  went  from  that  hateful  kloof  which  I  have 
never  seen  since  and  hope  I  shall  never  see  again,  two 
of  Zikali's  men  escorting  us  until  we  got  into  touch 
with  white  people.  To  these  we  said  as  little  as  possi- 
ble. I  think  they  believed  that  we  were  only  premature 
tourists  who  had  made  a  dash  into  Zululand  to  visit 
some  of  the  battlefields.  Indeed  none  of  us  ever 
reported  our  strange  adventures,  and  after  my  experi- 
ence with  Kaatje  we  were  particularly  careful  to  say 
nothing  in  the  hearing  of  any  gentleman  connected 
with  the  Press.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact  there  were 
so  many  people  moving  about  and  such  a  continual 
coming  and  going  of  soldiers  and  their  belongings, 
that  after  we  had  managed  to  buy  some  decent  clothes, 
which  we  did  at  the  little  town  of  Newcastle,  nobody 
paid  any  attention  to  us. 

On  our  way  to  Maritzburg  one  amusing  thing  did 
happen.  We  met  Kaatje!  It  was  about  sunset  that 
we  were  driving  up  a  steep  hill  not  far  from  Howick. 
At  least  I  was  driving,  but  Anscombe  and  Heda  were 
walking  about  a  hundred  yards  ahead  of  the  cart, 
when  suddenly  Kaatje  appeared  over  a  rise  and  came 
face  to  face  with  them  while  taking  an  evening  stroll, 
or  as  I  concluded  afterwards,  making  some  journey. 


THE  MADNESS  OF  NOMBE        381 

She  saw,  she  stared,  she  uttered  one  wild  yell,  and 
suddenly  bundled  over  the  edge  of  the  road.  Never 
would  I  have  believed  that  such  a  fat  woman  could 
have  run  so  fast.  In  a  minute  she  was  down  the  slope 
and  had  vanished  into  a  dense  kloof  where,  as  night 
was  closing  in  and  we  were  very  tired,  it  was  impossi- 
ble for  us  to  follow  her.  Nor  did  subsequent  inquiry 
in  Howick  tell  us  where  she  was  living  or  whence  she 
came,  for  some  months  before  she  had  left  the  place 
which  she  had  taken  there  as  a  cook. 

Such  was  the  end  of  Kaatje  so  far  as  we  were  con- 
cerned. Doubtless  to  her  dying  day  she  remained,  or 
will  remain,  a  firm  believer  in  ghosts. 

Anscombe  and  Heda  were  married  at  Maritzburg  as 
soon  as  the  necessary  formalities  had  been  completed. 
I  could  not  attend  the  ceremony,  which  was  a  disap- 
pointment to  me  and  I  hope  to  them,  but  unfortunately 
I  had  a  return  of  my  illness  and  was  laid  up  for  a 
week  owing  to  the  hot  sun.  Perhaps  this  was  what 
struck  me  on  the  neck  one  afternoon  coming  down  the 
Town  Hill  where  I  was  obliged  to  hang  on  to  the  rear 
of  the  cart  because  the  brakes  had  given  out.  However 
I  was  able  to  send  Heda  a  wedding  gift  in  the  shape 
of  her  jewels  and  money  that  I  recovered  from  the 
bank,  which  she  had  never  expected  to  see  again;  also 
to  arrange  everything  about  her  property. 

They  went  down  to  Durban  for  their  honeymoon 
and,  some  convenient  opportunity  arising,  sailed  thence 
for  England.  I  received  an  affectionate  letter  from 
them  both,  which  I  still  treasure,  thanking  me  very 
much  for  all  I  had  done  for  them,  that  after  all  was 
little  enough.  Also  Anscombe  enclosed  a  blank  cheque, 
begging  me  to  fill  it  in  for  whatever  sum  I  considered 
he  was  indebted  to  me  on  the  balance  of  account.     I 


382  FINISHED 

thought  this  very  kind  of  him  and  a  great  mark  of 
confidence,  but  the  cheque  remained  blank. 

I  never  saw  either  of  them  again,  and  though  I 
beheve  that  they  are  both  Hving,  for  the  most  part 
abroad — in  Hungary  I  think — I  do  not  suppose  that 
I  ever  shall.  When  I  came  to  England  some  years  later 
after  King  Solomon's  mines  had  made  me  rich,  I  wrote 
Anscombe  a  letter.  He  never  answered  it,  which  hurt 
me  at  the  time.  Afterwards  I  remembered  that  in 
their  fine  position  it  was  very  natural  that  they  should 
not  wish  to  renew  acquaintance  with  an  individual 
who  had  so  intimate  a  knowledge  of  certain  incidents 
that  they  probably  regarded  as  hateful,  such  as  the 
deaths  of  Marnham  and  Dr.  Rodd,  and  all  the  sur- 
rounding circumstances.  If  so,  I  daresay  that  they 
were  wise,  but  of  course  it  may  have  been  only  care- 
lessness. It  is  so  easy  for  busy  and  fashionable  folk 
not  to  answer  a  rather  troublesome  letter,  or  to  forget 
to  put  that  answer  in  the  post.  Or,  indeed,  the  letter 
may  never  have  reached  them:  such  things  often  go 
astray,  especially  when  people  live  abroad.  At  any 
rate,  perhaps  through  my  own  fault,  we  have  drifted 
apart.  I  daresay  they  believe  that  I  am  dead,  or  not 
to  be  found  somewhere  in  Africa.  However,  I  always 
think  of  them  with  affection,  for  Anscombe  was  one 
of  the  best  travelling  companions  I  ever  had,  and  his 
wife  a  most  charming  girl,  and  wonder  whether  Zikali's 
prophecy  about  their  children  will  come  true.  Good 
luck  go  with  them! 

As  it  chances,  since  then  I  passed  the  place  where 
the  Temple  stood,  though  at  a  little  distance.  I  had 
the  curiosity,  however,  at  some  inconvenience,  to  ride 
round  and  examine  the  spot.  I  suppose  that  Heda  had 
sold   the  property,    for  a  back-veld   Boer   who   was 


THE  MADNESS  OF  NOMBE         383 

absent  at  the  time,  had  turned  what  used  to  be  Rodd's 
hospital  into  his  house.  Close  by,  grim  and  gaunt, 
stood  the  burnt-out  marble  walls  of  the  Temple.  The 
verandah  was  still  roofed  over,  and  standing  on  the 
spot  whence  I  had  shot  the  pistol  out  of  Rodd's  hand, 
I  was  filled  with  many  memories. 

I  could  trace  the  whole  plan  of  the  building  and 
visited  that  part  of  it  which  had  been  Marnham's 
room.  The  iron  safe  that  stood  in  the  corner  had  been 
taken  away,  but  the  legs  of  the  bedstead  remained. 
Also  not  far  from  it,  overgrown  with  running  plants, 
was  a  little  heap  which  I  took  to  be  the  ashes  of  his 
desk,  for  bits  of  burnt  wood  protruded.  I  grubbed 
among  them  with  my  foot  and  riding  crop  and  presently 
came  across  the  remains  of  a  charred  human  skull. 
Then  I  departed  in  a  hurry. 

My  way  took  me  through  the  Yellow-wood  grove, 
past  the  horns  of  the  blue  wildebeeste  which  still  lay 
there,  past  that  mud-hole  also  into  which  Rodd  had 
fallen  dead.  Here,  however,  I  made  no  more  search, 
who  had  seen  enough  of  bones.  To  this  day  I  do  not 
know  whether  he  still  lies  beneath  the  slimy  ooze,  or 
was  removed  and  buried. 

Also  I  saw  the  site  of  our  wagon  camp  where  the 
Basutos  attacked  us.  But  I  will  have  done  with  these 
reminiscences  which  induce  melancholy,  though  really 
there  is  no  reason  why  they  should. 

Tout  lasse,  tout  casse,  tout  passe — everything  wears 
out,  everything  crumbles,  everything  vanishes — in  the 
words  of  the  French  proverb  that  my  friend  Sir  Henry 
Curtis  is  so  fond  of  quoting,  that  at  last  I  wrote  it 
down  in  my  pocketbook,  only  to  remember  afterwards 
that  when  I  was  a  boy  I  had  heard  it  from  the  lips  of 
an  old  scamp  of  a  Frenchman  of  the  name  of  Leblanc, 


384  FINISHED 

who  once  gave  me  and  another  lessons  in  the  Gallic 
tongue.  But  of  him  I  have  already  written  in  "  Marie;' 
which  is  the  first  chapter  in  the  Book  of  the  fall  of  the 
Zulus.  That  headed  ''  Child  of  Storm  "  is  the  second. 
These  pages  form  the  third  and  last. 

Ah!  indeed,  tout  lasse,  tout  casse,  tout  passe! 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE   KRAAL  JAZI 

Now  I  shall  pass  over  all  the  Zulu  record  of  the  next 
four  years,  since  after  all  it  has  nothing  to  do  with 
my  tale  and  I  do  not  pretend  to  be  writing  a  history. 

Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  set  up  his  Kilkenny  cat  Gov- 
ernment in  Zululand,  or  the  Home  Government  did 
it  for  him,  I  do  not  know  which.  In  place  of  one 
king,  thirteen  chiefs  were  erected  who  got  to  work  to 
cut  the  throats  of  each  other  and  of  the  people. 

As  I  expected  would  be  the  case,  Zikali  informed 
the  military  authorities  of  the  secret  hiding-place  in 
the  Ingome  Forest  where  he  suggested  to  Cetewayo 
that  he  should  refuge.  The  ex-king  was  duly  captured 
there  and  taken  first  to  the  Cape  and  then  to  England, 
where,  after  the  disgrace  of  poor  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  an 
agitation  had  been  set  on  foot  on  his  behalf.  Here  he 
saw  the  Queen  and  her  mistress,  once  more  conquer- 
ing, as  it  had  been  prophesied  that  he  would  by  her 
who  wore  the  shape  of  Mameena  at  the  memorable 
scene  in  the  Valley  of  Bones  when  I  was  present. 
Often  I  have  thought  of  him  dressed  in  a  black  coat 
and  seated  in  that  villa  in  Melbury  Road  in  the  suburb 
of  London  which  I  understand  is  populated  by  artists. 
A  strange  contrast  truly  to  the  savage  prince  receiving 
the  salute  of  triumph  after  the  battle  of  the  Tugela  in 
which  he  won  the  kingship,  or  to  the  royal  monarch  to 
whose   presence   I   had   been   summoned   at   Ulundi. 

385 


386  FINISHED 

However,  he  was  brought  back  to  Zululand  again  by 
a  British  man-of-war,  re-installed  to  a  limited  chief- 
tainship by  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone,  and  freed  from 
the  strangling  embrace  of  the  black  coat. 

Then  of  course  there  was  more  fighting,  as  every 
one  knew  would  happen,  except  the  British  Colonial 
Office;  indeed  all  Zululand  ran  with  blood.  For  in 
England  Cetewayo  and  his  rights,  or  wrongs,  had,  like 
the  Boers  and  their  rights,  or  wrongs,  become  a  matter 
of  Party  politics  to  which  everything  else  must  give 
way.  Often  I  wonder  whether  Party  politics  will  not 
in  the  end  prove  the  ruin  of  the  British  Empire.  Well, 
thank  Heaven,  I  shall  not  live  to  learn. 

So  Cetewayo  came  back  and  fought  and  was 
defeated  by  those  who  once  had  been  his  subjects. 
Now  for  the  last  scene,  that  is  all  with  which  I  need 
concern  myself. 

At  the  beginning  of  February,  1884,  business  took 
me  to  Zululand;  it  had  to  do  with  a  deal  in  cattle  and 
blankets.  As  I  was  returning  towards  the  Tugela 
who  should  I  meet  but  friend  Goza,  he  who  had 
escorted  me  from  the  Black  Kloof  to  Ulundi  before 
the  outbreak  of  war,  and  who  afterwards  escorted  me 
and  that  unutterable  nuisance,  Kaatje,  out  of  the 
country.  At  first  I  thought  that  we  came  together  by 
accident,  or  perhaps  that  he  had  journeyed  a  little  way 
to  thank  me  for  the  blankets  which  I  had  sent  to  him, 
remembering  my  ancient  promise,  but  afterwards  I 
changed  my  opinion  on  this  point. 

Well,  we  talked  over  many  matters,  the  war,  the 
disasters  that  had  befallen  Zululand,  and  so  forth. 
Especially  did  we  talk  of  that  night  in  the  Valley  of 
Bones  and  the  things  we  had  seen  there  side  by  side. 
I  asked  him  if  the  people  still  believed  in  the  Inkosa- 


THE  KRAAL  JAZI  387 

zana-y-Zulu  who  then  appeared  in  the  moonlight  on 
the  rock.  He  answered  that  some  did  and  some  did 
not.  For  his  part,  he  added,  looking  at  me  fixedly, 
he  did  not,  since  it  was  rumoured  that  Zikali  had 
dressed  up  a  white  woman  to  play  the  part  of  the 
Spirit.  Yet  he  could  not  be  sure  of  the  matter,  since 
it  was  also  said  that  when  some  of  Cetewayo's  people 
went  to  kill  this  white  woman  in  the  Black  Kloof, 
Nomkubulwana,  the  Princess  of  Heaven  herself,  rose 
before  them  and  frightened  them  away. 

I  remarked  that  this  was  very  strange,  and  then 
quite  casually  asked  him  whom  Zikali  had  dressed  up 
to  play  the  part  of  the  dead  Mameena  upon  that  same 
occasion,  since  this  was  a  point  upon  which  I  always 
thirsted  for  definite  intelligence.  He  stared  at  me  and 
replied  that  I  ought  to  be  able  to  answer  my  own  ques- 
tion, since  I  had  been  much  nearer  to  her  who  looked 
like  Mameena  than  any  one  else,  so  near  indeed  that 
all  present  distinctly  saw  her  kiss  me,  as  it  was  well 
known  she  had  liked  to  do  while  still  alive.  I  replied 
indignantly  that  they  saw  wrong  and  repeated  my 
question.     Then  he  answered  straight  out — 

"  O  Macumazahn,  we  Zulus  believe  that  what  we 
saw  on  that  night  was  not  Nombe  or  another  dressed 
up,  but  the  spirit  of  the  witch  Mameena  itself.  We 
believe  it  because  we  could  see  the  light  of  Zikali's 
fire  through  her,  not  always,  but  sometimes;  also 
because  all  that  she  said  has  come  true,  though  every- 
thing is  not  yet  finished." 

I  could  get  no  more  out  of  him  about  the  matter, 
for  when  I  tried  to  speak  of  it  again,  he  turned  the 
subject,  telling  me  of  his  wonderful  escapes  dur- 
ing the  war.  Presently  he  rose  to  go  and  said 
casually — 


388  FINISHED 

''  Surely  I  grow  old  in  these  times  of  trouble, 
Macumazahn,  for  thoughts  slip  through  my  head  like 
water  through  the  fingers.  Almost  I  had  forgotten 
what  I  wished  to  say  to  you.  The  other  day  I  met 
Zikali,  the  Opener  of  Roads.  He  told  me  that  you 
were  in  Zululand  and  that  I  should  meet  you — he  did 
not  say  where,  only  that  when  I  did  meet  you,  I  was 
to  give  you  a  message.  This  was  the  message — that 
when  on  your  way  to  Natal  you  came  to  the  kraal 
Jazi,  you  would  find  him  there;  also  another  whom 
you  used  to  know,  and  must  be  sure  not  to  go  away 
without  seeing  him,  since  that  was  about  to  happen  in 
which  you  must  take  your  part.'* 

"  Zikali !"  I  exclaimed.  "  I  have  heard  nothing  of 
him  since  the  war.  I  thought  that  by  now  he  was 
certainly  dead." 

"  Oh !  no,  Macumazahn,  he  is  certainly  not  dead, 
but  just  the  same  as  ever.  Indeed  it  is  believed  that 
he  and  no  other  has  kept  all  this  broth  of  trouble  on 
the  boil,  some  say  for  Cetewayo's  sake,  and  some  say 
because  he  wishes  to  destroy  Cetewayo.  But  what  do 
I  know  of  such  matters  who  only  desire  to  live  in 
peace  under  whatever  chief  the  English  Queen  sends 
to  us,  as  she  has  a  right  to  do  having  conquered  us  in 
war?  When  you  meet  the  Opener  of  Roads  at  the 
kraal  Jazi,  ask  him,  Macumazahn." 

"  Where  the  devil  is  the  kraal  Jazi  ?"  I  inquired  with 
irritation.    "  I  never  heard  of  such  a  place." 

'*  Nor  did  I,  therefore  I  cannot  tell  you,  Macuma- 
zahn. For  aught  I  can  say  it  may  be  down  beneath 
where  dead  men  go.  But  wherever  it  is  there  certainly 
you  will  meet  the  Opener  of  Roads.  Now  farewell, 
Macumazahn.  If  it  should  chance  that  we  never  look 
into  each  other's  eyes  again,  I  am  sure  you  will  think 


THE  KRAAL  JAZI  389 

of  me  sometimes,  as  I  shall  of  you,  and  of  all  that  we 
have  seen  together,  especially  on  that  night  in  the 
Valley  of  Bones  when  the  ghost  of  the  witch  Mameena 
prophesied  to  us  and  kissed  you  before  us  all.  She 
must  have  been  very  beautiful,  Macumazahn,  as  indeed 
I  have  heard  from  those  who  remember  her,  and  I 
don't  wonder  that  you  loved  her  so  much.  Still  for 
my  part  I  had  rather  be  kissed  by  a  living  woman  than 
by  one  who  is  dead,  though  doubtless  it  is  best  to  be 
kissed  by  none  at  all.  Again,  farewell,  and  be  sure  to 
tell  the  Opener  of  Roads  that  I  gave  you  his  message, 
lest  he  should  lay  some  evil  charm  upon  me,  who  have 
seen  enough  evil  of  late." 

Thus  talking  Goza  departed.  I  never  saw  him  again, 
and  do  not  know  if  he  is  dead  or  alive.  Well,  he  was 
a  kindly  old  fellow,  if  no  hero. 

I  had  almost  forgotten  the  incident  of  this  meeting 
when  a  while  later  I  found  myself  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  beautiful  but  semi-tropical  place  called 
Eshowe,  which  since  those  days  has  become  the  official 
home  of  the  British  Resident  in  Zululand.  Indeed, 
although  the  house  was  not  then  finished,  if  it  had 
been  begun,  Sir  Melmoth  Osborn  already  had  an 
office  there.  I  wished  to  see  him  in  order  to  give  him 
some  rather  important  information,  but  when  I  reached 
a  kraal  of  about  fifty  huts  some  five  hundred  yards 
from  the  site  of  the  present  Residency,  my  wagon 
stuck  fast  in  the  boggy  ground.  While  I  was  trying 
to  get  it  out  a  quiet-faced  Zulu,  whose  name,  I  remem- 
ber, was  Umnikwa,  informed  me  that  Mali-mati,  that 
is  Sir  Melmoth  Osborn's  native  name,  was  somewhere 
at  a  little  distance  from  Eshowe,  too  far  away  for  me 
to  get  to  him  that  night.     I  answered,  Very  well,  I 


390  FINISHED 

would  sleep  where  I  was,  and  asked  the  name  of  the 
kraal. 

He  replied,  Jazi,  at  which  I  started,  but  only  said 
that  it  was  a  strange  name,  seeing  that  it  meant 
"  Finished,"  or  *'  Finished  with  joy."  Umnikwa 
answered,  Yes,  but  that  it  had  been  so  called  because 
the  chief  Umfokaki,  or  The  Stranger,  who  married  a 
sister  of  the  king,  was  killed  at  this  kraal  by  his 
brother,  Gundane,  or  the  Bat.  I  remarked  that  it  was 
an  ill-omened  kind  of  name,  to  which  the  m.an  replied, 
Yes,  and  likely  to  become  more  so,  since  the  King 
Cetewayo  who  had  been  sheltering  there  "  beneath  the 
armpit"  of  Mali-mati,  the  white  lord,  for  some 
months,  lay  in  it  dying.  I  asked  him  of  what  he  was 
dying,  and  he  replied  that  he  did  not  know,  but  that 
doubtless  the  father  of  the  witch-doctors,  named  Zikali, 
the  Opener  of  Roads,  would  be  able  to  tell  me,  as  he 
was  attending  on  Cetewayo. 

"  He  has  sent  me  to  bid  you  to  come  at  once,  O 
Macumazahn,"  he  added  casually,  "  having  had  news 
that  you  were  arriving  here." 

Showing  no  surprise,  I  answered  that  I  would  come, 
although  goodness  knows  I  was  surprised  enough,  and 
leaving  my  servants  to  get  my  wagon  out  of  the  bog, 
I  walked  into  the  kraal  with  the  messenger.  He  took 
me  to  a  large  hut  placed  within  a  fence  about  the  gate 
of  which  some  women  were  gathered,  who  all  looked 
very  anxious  and  disturbed.  Among  them  I  saw 
Dabuko,  the  king's  brother,  whom  I  knew  slightly. 
He  greeted  me  and  told  me  that  Cetewayo  was  at  the 
point  of  death  within  the  hut,  but  like  Umnikwa,  pro- 
fessed ignorance  of  the  cause  of  his  illness. 

For  a  long  while,  over  an  hour  I  should  think,  I  sat 
there  outside  the  hut,  or  walked  to  and  fro.     Until 


THE  KRAAL  JAZI  391 

darkness  came  I  could  occupy  myself  with  contem- 
plating the  scenery  of  the  encircling  hills,  which  is 
among  the  most  beautiful  in  Zululand  with  its  swelling 
contours  and  rich  colouring.  But  after  it  had  set  in 
only  my  thoughts  remained,  and  these  I  found  de- 
pressing. 

At  length  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  go  away, 
for  after  all  what  had  I  to  do  with  this  business  of  the 
death  of  Cetewayo,  if  in  truth  he  was  dying?  I  wished 
to  see  no  more  of  Cetewayo  of  whom  all  my  recollec- 
tions were  terrific  or  sorrowful.  I  rose  to  depart, 
when  suddenly  a  woman  emerged  from  the  hut.  I 
could  not  see  who  she  was  or  even  what  she  was  like, 
because  of  the  gloom ;  also  for  the  reason  that  she  had 
the  corner  of  her  blanket  thrown  over  her  face  as 
though  she  wished  to  keep  it  hidden.  For  a  moment 
she  stopped  opposite  to  me  and  said — 

"  The  king  who  is  sick  desires  to  see  you,  Macuma- 
zahn."  Then  she  pointed  to  the  door-hole  of  the  hut 
and  vanished,  shutting  the  gate  of  the  fence  behind 
her.  Curiosity  overcame  me  and  I  crawled  into  the 
hut,  pushing  aside  the  door-board  in  order  to  do  so 
and  setting  it  up  again  when  I  was  through. 

Inside  burned  a  single  candle  fixed  in  the  neck  of  a 
bottle,  faintly  illuminating  that  big  and  gloomy  place. 
By  its  feeble  light  I  saw  a  low  bedstead  on  the  left  of 
the  entrance  and  lying  on  it  a  man  half  covered  by  a 
blanket  in  whom  I  recognized  Cetewayo.  His  face 
was  shrunken  and  distorted  with  pain,  and  his  great 
bulk  seemed  less,  but  still  without  doubt  it  was  Cete- 
wayo. 

"  Greeting,  Macumazahn,"  he  said  feebly,  ''  you  find 
me  in  evil  case,  but  I  heard  that  you  were  here  and 
thought  that  I  should  like  to  see  you  before  I  die. 


392  FINISHED 

because  I  know  that  you  are  honest  and  will  report  my 
words  faithfully.  I  wish  you  to  tell  the  white  men 
that  my  heart  never  really  was  against  them;  they  have 
always  been  the  friends  of  my  heart,  but  others  forced 
me  down  a  road  I  did  not  wish  to  travel,  of  which  now 
I  have  come  to  the  end." 

**  What  is  the  matter  with  you.  King?"  I  asked. 

"  I  do  not  know,  Macumazahn,  but  I  have  been  sick 
for  some  days.  The  Opener  of  Roads  who  came  to 
doctor  me,  because  my  wives  believed  those  white 
medicine-men  wished  me  dead,  says  that  I  have  been 
poisoned  and  must  die.  If  you  had  been  here  at  first 
you  might  perhaps  have  given  me  some  medicine. 
But  now  it  is  too  late,"  he  added  with  a  groan. 

"  Who  then  poisoned  you.  King?" 

"  I  cannot  tell  you,  Macumazahn.  Perhaps  my 
enemies,  perhaps  my  brothers,  perhaps  my  wives.  All 
wish  to  have  done  with  me,  and  the  Great  One,  who 
is  no  longer  wanted,  is  soon  dead.  Be  thankful, 
Macumazahn,  that  you  never  were  a  king,  for  sad  is 
the  lot  of  kings." 

"Where,  then,  is  the  Opener  of  Roads?"  I  asked. 

"  He  was  here  a  little  while  ago.  Perhaps  he  has 
gone  out  to  take  the  King's  head  "  (i.  e.,  to  announce 
his  death)  "to  Mali-mati  and  the  white  men,"  he 
answered  in  a  faint  voice. 

Just  then  I  heard  a  shuffling  noise  proceeding  from 
that  part  of  the  hut  where  the  shadow  was  deepest, 
and  looking,  saw  an  emaciated  arm  projected  into  the 
circle  of  the  light.  It  was  followed  by  another  arm, 
then  by  a  vast  head  covered  with  long  white  hair  that 
trailed  upon  the  ground,  then  by  a  big,  misshapen  body, 
so  wasted  that  it  looked  like  a  skeleton  covered  with 
corrugated    black    skin.     Slowly,    like    a    chameleon 


I 


THE  KRAAL  JAZI  393 

climbing  a  bough,  the  thing  crept  forward,  and  I  knew 
it  for  Zikali.  He  reached  the  side  of  the  bed  and 
squatted  down  in  his  toad-like  fashion,  then,  again 
like  a  chameleon,  without  moving  his  head  turned 
his  deep  and  glowing  eyes  towards  me. 

"  Hail,  O  Macumazahn,"  he  said  in  his  low  voice. 
"  Did  I  not  promise  you  long  ago  that  you  should  be 
with  me  at  the  last,  and  are  you  not  with  me  and 
another?" 

'*  It  seems  so,  Zikali,"  I  answered.  "  But  why  do 
you  not  send  for  the  white  doctors  to  cure  the  king?" 

"All  the  doctors,  white  and  black,  in  the  whole 
world  cannot  cure  him,  Macumazahn.  The  Spirits 
call  him  and  he  dies.  At  his  call  I  came  fast  and  far, 
but  even  I  cannot  cure  him,  although  because  of  him 
I  myself  must  die." 

"Why?"  I  asked. 

"  Look  at  me,  Macumazahn,  and  say  if  I  am  one 
who  should  travel.  Well,  all  come  to  their  end  at  last, 
even  the   '  Thing-that-should-never-have-been-born.'  " 

Cetewayo  lifted  his  head  and  looked  at  him,  then 
said  heavily — 

"  Perchance  it  would  have  been  better  for  our  House 
if  that  end  had  been  sooner.  Now  that  I  lie  dying  many 
sayings  concerning  you  come  into  my  mind  that  I  had 
forgotten.  Moreover,  Opener  of  Roads,  I  never  sent 
for  you,  whoever  may  have  done  so,  and  it  was  not 
until  after  you  came  here  that  the  great  pain  seized  me. 
How  did  it  happen,"  he  went  on  with  gathering  force, 
"that  the  white  men  caught  me  in  the  secret  place 
where  you  told  me  I  should  hide?  Who  pointed  out 
that  hidden  hole  to  the  white  men?  But  what  does 
it  matter  now?" 

"  Nothing  at  all,  O  Son  of  Panda,"  answered  Zikali, 


394  FINISHED 

"even  less  than  it  matters  how  I  escaped  the  spear- 
head hidden  in  your  robe,  yonder  in  my  hut  in  the 
Black  Kloof  where,  had  it  not  been  for  a  certain  Spirit 
that  stood  between  you  and  me,  you  would  have  mur- 
dered me.  Tell  me,  Son  of  Panda,  during  these  last 
three  days  have  you  thought  at  all  of  your  brother 
Umbelazi,  and  of  certain  other  brethren  of  yours  whom 
you  killed  at  the  battle  of  the  Tugela,  when  the  white 
man  here  led  the  charge  of  the  Amawombe  against 
your  regiment,  and  ate  up  three  of  them?" 

Cetewayo  groaned  but  said  nothing.  I  think  he  had 
become  too  faint  to  speak. 

"Listen,  Son  of  Panda,"  went  on  Zikali  in  an 
intense  and  hissing  voice.  "  Many,  many  years  ago, 
before  Senzangacona,  your  grandfather,  saw  the  light 
— who  knows  how  long  before — a  man  was  born  of 
high  blood  in  the  Dwandwe  tribe,  which  man  was  a 
dwarf.  Chaka  the  Black  One  conquered  the  Dwandwe, 
but  this  man  of  high  blood  was  spared  because  he  was 
a  dwarf,  an  abortion,  to  whom  Chaka  gave  the 
name  of  the  '  Thing-that-never-should-have-been-born,' 
keeping  him  about  him  to  be  a  mock  in  times  of  peace 
and  safety,  and  because  he  was  wise  and  learned  in 
magic,  to  be  a  counsellor  in  times  of  trouble.  More- 
over, Chaka  killed  this  man's  wives  and  children  for 
his  sport,  save  one  whom  he  kept  to  be  his  '  sister.' 

"  Therefore  for  the  sake  of  his  people  and  his 
butchered  wives  and  children,  this  wizard  swore  an 
oath  of  vengeance  against  Chaka  and  all  his  House. 
Working  beneath  the  ground  like  a  rat,  he  under- 
mined the  throne  of  Chaka  and  brought  him  to  his 
death  by  the  spears  of  his  brethren  and  of  Mopo  his 
servant,  whom  Chaka  had  wronged.  Still  working 
in  the  dark  like  a  rat,  he  caused  Dingaan,  who  stabbed 


THE  KRAAL  JAZI  395 

Chaka,  to  murder  the  Boer  Retief  and  his  people,  and 
thus  called  down  upon  his  head  the  vengeance  of  the 
Whites,  and  afterwards  brought  Dingaan  to  his  death. 
Then  Panda,  your  father,  arose,  and  his  life  this 
'  Thing-that-never-should-have-been-born  '  spared  be- 
cause once  Panda  had  done  him  a  kindness.  Only 
through  the  witch  Mameena  he  brought  sorrow  on 
him,  causing  war  to  arise  between  his  children,  one  of 
whom  was  named  Cetewayo. 

*'  Then  this  Cetewayo  ruled,  first  with  his  father 
Panda  and  afterwards  in  his  place,  and  trouble  arose 
between  him  and  the  English.  Son  of  Panda,  you  will 
remember  that  this  Cetewayo  was  in  doubt  whether 
to  fight  the  English  and  demanded  a  sign  of  the  Thing- 
that-never-should-have-been-born.  He  gave  the  sign, 
causing  the  Inkosazana-y-Zulu,  the  Princess  of  Heaven, 
to  appear  before  him  and  thereby  lifting  the  spear  of 
War.  Son  of  Panda,  you  know  how  that  war 
went,  how  this  Cetewayo  was  defeated  and  came  to 
the  *  Thing-that-never-should-have-been-born '  like  a 
hunted  hyena,  to  learn  of  a  hole  where  he  might  hide. 
You  know,  too,  how  he  strove  to  murder  the  poor  old 
doctor  who  showed  him  such  a  hole;  how  he  was  taken 
prisoner  and  sent  across  the  water  and  afterwards  set 
up  again  in  the  land  that  had  learned  to  hate  him,  to 
bring  its  children  to  death  by  thousands.  And  you 
know  how  at  last  he  took  refuge  beneath  the  wing  of 
the  white  chief,  here  in  the  kraal  Jazi,  and  lived,  spat 
upon,  an  outcast,  until  at  length  he  fell  sick,  as  such 
men  are  apt  to  do,  and  the  '  Thing-that-never-should- 
have-been-born  *  was  sent  for  to  doctor  him.  And  you 
know  also  how  he  lies  dying,  within  him  an  agony  as 
though  he  had  swallowed  a  red  hot  spear,  and  before 
him  a  great  blackness  peopled  by  the  ghosts  of  those 


396  FINISHED 

whom  he  has  slain,  and  of  his  forefathers  whose  House 
he  has  pulled  down  and  burned." 

Zikali  ceased,  and  thrusting  his  hideous  head  to 
within  an  inch  or  two  of  that  of  the  dying  man,  he 
glowered  at  him  with  his  fierce  and  fiery  eyes.  Then 
he  began  to  whisper  into  the  king's  ear,  who  quivered 
at  his  words,  as  the  victim  quivers  beneath  the  tor- 
turer's looks. 

At  that  moment  the  end  of  the  candle  fell  into  the 
bottle  which  was  of  clear  white  glass,  and  there  burned 
for  a  little  while  dully  before  it  went  out.  Never 
shall  I  forget  the  scene  illumined  by  its  blue  and 
ghastly  light.  The  dying  man  lying  on  the  low  couch, 
rocking  his  head  to  and  fro;  the  wizard  bending  over 
him  like  some  grey  vampire  bat  sucking  the  life-blood 
from  his  helpless  throat.  The  terror  in  the  eyes  of 
the  one,  the  insatiable  hate  in  the  eyes  of  the  other. 
Oh!  it  was  awful! 

"  Macumazahn,"  gasped  Cetewayo  in  a  rattling 
whisper,  "  help  me,  Macumazahn.  I  say  that  I  am 
poisoned  by  this  Zikali,  who  hates  me.  Oh  I  drive  away 
the  ghosts !    Drive  them  away !  " 

I  looked  at  him  and  at  his  tormentor  squatted  by 
him  like  a  mocking  fiend,  and  as  I  looked  the  candle 
went  out. 

Then  my  nerve  broke,  the  cold  sweat  poured  from 
my  face  and  I  fled  from  the  hut  as  a  man  might  from  a 
scene  in  hell,  followed  by  the  low  mocking  laugh  of 
ZikaH. 

Outside  the  women  and  others  were  gathered  in  the 
gloom.  I  told  them  to  go  to  the  king,  who  was  dying, 
and  blundered  up  the  slope  to  search  for  some  white 
man.  No  one  was  to  be  found,  but  a  Kaffir  messenger 
by  the  office  told  me  that  Mali-mati  was  still  away  and 


THE  KRAAL  JAZI  397 

had  been  sent  for.     So  I  returned  to  my  wagon  and 
lay  down  in  it  exhausted,  for  what  more  could  I  do  ? 

It  was  a  rough  night.  Thunder  muttered  and 
rain  fell  in  driving  gusts.  I  dozed  off,  only  to  be 
awakened  by  a  sound  of  wailing.  Then  I  knew  that 
the  king  was  dead,  for  this  was  the  Isililo,  the  cry  of 
mourning.  I  wondered  whether  the  murderers — for 
that  he  was  poisoned  I  had  no  doubt — were  among 
those  who  wailed. 

Towards  dawn  the  storm  rolled  off  and  the  night 
grew  serene  and  clear,  for  a  waning  moon  was  shining 
in  the  sky.  The  heat  of  that  stifling  place  oppressed 
me;  my  blood  seemed  to  be  afire,  I  knew  that  there 
was  a  stream  in  a  gorge  about  half  a  mile  away,  for 
it  had  been  pointed  out  to  me.  I  longed  for  a  swim 
in  cool  water,  who,  to  tell  truth,  had  found  none  for 
some  days,  and  bethought  me  that  I  would  bathe  in 
this  stream  before  I  trekked  from  that  hateful  spot, 
for  to  me  it  had  become  hateful. 

Calling  my  driver,  who  was  awake  and  talking  with 
the  voorloopers,  for  they  knew  what  was  passing  at 
the  kraal  and  were  alarmed,  I  told  them  to  get  the 
oxen  ready  to  start  as  I  would  be  back  presently. 
Then  I  set  off  for  the  stream  and,  after  a  longish 
walk,  scrambled  down  a  steep  ravine  to  its  banks, 
following  a  path  made  by  Kaffir  women  going  to  draw 
water.  Arrived  there  at  last  I  found  that  it  was  in 
flood  and  rising  rapidly,  at  least  so  I  judged  from  the 
sound,  for  in  that  deep,  tree-hung  place  the  light  was 
too  faint  to  allow  me  to  see  anything.  So  I  sat  down 
waiting  for  the  dawn  and  wishing  that  I  had  not  come 
because  of  the  mosquitoes. 

At  length  it  broke  and  the  mists  lifted,  showing 


398  FINISHED 

that  the  spot  was  one  of  great  beauty.  Opposite  to  me 
was  a  waterfall  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high,  over  which 
the  torrent  rushed  into  a  black  pool  below.  Every- 
where grew  tall  ferns  and  beyond  these  graceful  trees, 
from  whose  leaves  hung  raindrops.  In  the  centre  of 
the  stream  on  the  edge  of  the  fall  was  a  rock  not  a 
dozen  feet  away  from  me,  round  which  the  water 
foamed.  Something  was  squatted  on  this  rock,  at  first 
I  could  not  see  what  because  of  the  mist,  but  thought 
that  it  was  a  grey-headed  baboon,  or  some  other  ani- 
mal, and  regretted  that  I  had  not  brought  a  gun  with 
me.  Presently  I  became  aware  that  it  must  be  a  man, 
for,  in  a  chanting  voice,  it  began  to  speak  or  pray  in 
Zulu,  and  hidden  behind  a  flowering  bush,  I  could 
hear  the  words.    They  were  to  this  effect — 

"  O  my  Spirit,  here  where  thou  foundest  me  when 
I  was  young,  hundreds  of  years  ago  '*  (he  said  hun- 
dreds, but  I  suppose  he  meant  tens),  "  I  come  back  to 
thee.  In  this  pool  I  dived  and  beneath  the  waters 
found  thee,  my  Snake,  and  thou  didst  wind  thyself 
about  my  body  and  about  my  heart  *'  (here  I  under- 
stood that  the  speaker  was  alluding  to  his  initiation 
as  a  witch-doctor  which  generally  includes,  or  used  to 
include,  the  finding  of  a  snake  in  a  river  that  coils 
itself  about  the  neophyte).  *' About  my  body  and  in 
my  heart  thou  hast  dwelt  from  that  sun  to  this,  giving 
me  wisdom  and  good  and  evil  counsel,  and  that  which 
thou  hast  counselled,  I  have  done.  Now  I  return  thee 
whence  thou  camest,  there  to  await  me  in  the  new 
birth. 

"  O  Spirits  of  my  fathers,  toiling  through  many 
years  I  have  avenged  you  on  the  House  of  Senzanga- 
cona,  and  never  again  will  there  be  a  king  of  the 
Zulus,  for  the  last  of  them  lies  dead  by  my  hand.     O 


THE  KRAAL  JAZI  399 

my  murdered  wives  and  my  children,  I  have  offered 
up  to  you  a  mighty  sacrifice,  a  sacrifice  of  thousands 
upon  thousands. 

"  O  Umkulu-kulu,  Great  One  of  the  heavens,  who 
sentest  me  to  earth,  I  have  done  thy  work  upon  the 
earth  and  bring  back  to  thee  thy  harvest  of  the  seed 
that  thou  hast  sown,  a  blood-red  harvest,  O  Umkulu- 
kulu.  Be  still,  be  still,  my  Snake,  the  sun  arises,  and 
soon,  soon  shalt  thou  rest  in  the  water  that  wast  thine 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world ! " 

The  voice  ceased,  and  presently  a  spear  of  light 
piercing  the  mists,  lit  upon  the  speaker.  It  was  Zikali 
and  about  him  was  wound  a  great  yellow-bellied  snake, 
of  which  the  black  head  with  flickering  tongue  waved 
above  his  head  and  seemed  from  time  to  time  to  lick 
him  on  the  brow.  (I  suppose  it  had  come  to  him  from 
the  water,  for  its  skin  glittered  as  though  with  wet.) 
He  stood  up  on  tottering  feet,  staring  at  the  red  eye 
of  the  rising  sun,  then  crying,  ''  Finished,  finished  zvith 
joy!''  with  a  loud  and  dreadful  laughter,  he  plunged 
into  the  foaming  pool  beneath. 

Such  was  the  end  of  Zikali  the  Wizard,  Opener 
of  Roads,  the  "  Thing-that-should-never-have-been- 
born,'*  and  such  was  the  vengeance  that  he  worked 
upon  the  great  House  of  Senzangacona,  bringing  it  to 
naught  and  with  it  the  nation  of  the  Zulus. 


THE    QUINN    A    BODEN    CO.     PRESS 
RAHWAV,    N.   i. 


THE  ALLAN  QUATERMAIN   ROMANCES 

KING  SOLOMON'S  MINES 

By  SIR  H.  RIDER  HAGGARD.     Crown  8vo.    $1.25. 

A  romance  that  fairly  bristles  with  excitement  from  beginning 
to  end.  The  story  of  the  quest  of  King  Solomon's  Ophir,  full  of 
sensational  fights,  blood-curdling  perils  and  extraordinary  escapes. 

THE  IVORY  CHILD 

By  SIR  H.  RIDER  HAGGARD.    With  illustrations.    Crown  8vo. 
$1.35  net. 

"...  it  is  enough  to  say  that  when  Allan  Quatermain,  in 
the  opening  sentence  of  his  narrative,  speaks  of  this  as  '  one  of 
the  strangest  of  all  the  adventures  which  have  befallen  me  in  the 
course  of  a  life,  that  so  far  can  scarcely  be  called  tame  or  hum- 
drum,' he  is  well  within  the  mark  .  .  .  handled  in  Sir  Rider 
Haggard's  best  manner." — The  Spectator— London. 

ALLAN  QUATERMAIN 

By  SIR  H.  RIDER  HAGGARD.     With  20  illustrations   and  a 
portrait.     Crown  8vo.     $L25. 

"Haggard  has  created  one  of  the  outstanding  characters  of 
contemporary  fiction,  Allan  Quatermain."— A^^w  York  World. 

ALLAN'S  WIFE,  and  Other  Tales 

By  SIR  H.  RIDER  HAGGARD.    With  34  illustrations.     Crown 
Svo.    $L25. 

ALLAN  AND  THE  HOLY  FLOWER 

By  SIR  H.  RIDER  HAGGARD.     With  12  illustrations.     Crown 

Svo.     $1.35  net. 

This  highly  imaginative  story  has  to  do  with  Allan's  search,  in 
company  with  an  American  physician,  for  a  unique  flower  of  mar- 
velous beauty  and  priceless  value,  presided  over  in  the  wilds  of 
South  Africa  by  a  "  white  goddess  "  and  guarded  by  a  monstrous 
ape  revered  by  the  natives  as  a  god.  In  the  tale  of  the  search, 
Sir  Rider  Haggard  finds  abundant  opportunity  for  those  touches 
of  mystery  and  incidents  of  breathless  adventure  that  have  made 
his  "  Allan  Quatermain "  series  so  popular  with  two  generations. 

"The  series  of  romances  about  Allan  Quatermain  .  .  .  will 
some  day  be  read  even  as  the  great  series  by  Dumas  is  read.  ..." 
— Cleveland  Plain  Dealer. 

LONGMANS,  GREEN  &  CO.  NEW  YORK 


THE  ALLAN  QUATERMAIN  ROMANCES 

FINISHED 

By  SIR  H.  RIDER  HAGGARD.     With  colored  frontispiece  and 

dust  wrapper.     Crown  8vo.     $1.40  net. 

This  book  forms  the  third  of  the  trilogy  of  which  "  Marie " 
and  "  Child  of  Storm  "  are  the  first  two  parts.  It  narrates,  through 
the  mouth  of  Allan  Quatermain,  the  consummation  of  the  venge- 
ance of  the  wizard  Zikali  upon  the  royal  Zulu  house  of  which 
Senzangacona  was  the  founder  and  Cetewayo  the  last  representa- 
tive who  ruled  as  king. 

MARIE 

By  SIR  H.  RIDER  HAGGARD.     With  colored  frontispiece  and 

other  illustrations.     Crown  8vo.     $1.35  net. 

The  story  of  Allan  Quatermain's  first  love,  Marie  Marais — 
*'  Throughout  the  book  runs  a  tender,  beautiful  and  moving  love 
story.  .  .  ,  Marie  is  Quatermain's  wife  only  a  little  while,  and 
then  she  makes  the  great  sacrifice.  .  .  .  The  time  is  far  back, 
when  the  Boers  began  the  great  trek  from  Cape  Colony,  and  the 
author  says  that  in  main  all  the  historical  parts  of  his  story  are 
true." — New  York  Times. 

"  We  are  disposed  to  regard  '  Marie  *  as  one  of  the  most 
exciting  and  interesting  of  all  that  cycle  of  romances  which  are 
concerned  with  that  mighty  hunter,  Allan  Quatermain." — Spectator. 

CHILD  OF  STORM 

By  SIR  H.  RIDER  HAGGARD.     With  colored  frontispiece  and 
other  illustrations.     Crown  8vo.     $1.35  «tf/. 

"  An  unusual  story  of  the  Zulus  in  all  their  superstitious  mad- 
ness and  blood-stained  grandeur;  of  the  time  of  the  Impis  and 
the  witch-finders  and  the  rival  princes  of  the  Royal  House.  The 
story  of  the  fascinating  and  wicked  Mameena  is  here  told  by 
Allan  Quatermain  and  is  the  second  of  the  three  romances  referred 
to  in  the  Editor's  notes  to   Sir  Rider  Haggard's  lately  published 

*  Marie.' " 

"  Now  that  the  Zulus  are  no  longer  a  reigning  nation  and  are 
doomed  to  go  the  way  of  all  savage  tribes,  the  trilogy  of  which 

*  Child  of  Storm '  is  a  part,  ought  to  have  an  enduring  value  aside 
from  its  extraordinary  romantic  interest." — Minneapolis  Journal. 

LONGMANS,  GREEN  &  CO.  NEW  YORK 


( 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

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Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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